Discover GOP Opprobrium

[teapeebubbles]

A week ago, when the Elena Kagan nomination was still in the realm of well-placed rumor, Matt Yglesias made a reasonable prediction:

Kagan pick will be greeted with initial disappointment, conservative attacks will cause liberals to rally 'round her.


And sure enough, here's the estimable Marcy Wheeler this afternoon:

Predictably, the stupidity of the GOP attacks is endearing Kagan to me more and more.


Adam Serwer agrees.

I can relate to this, too. I didn't necessarily have a favorite among the reported short-list for the Supreme Court vacancy, though if President Obama called me up and asked my vote, I probably would have endorsed Diane Wood.

What's more, when the Elena Kagan announcement was made on Monday morning, I wouldn't say I was necessarily disappointed, but I was certainly open to skeptical and critical arguments about the nomination's merits.

But as the week has progressed, and I've heard conservatives and Republicans start to take their best shots, I find myself thinking this Kagan nomination might not be so bad after all.

I should emphasize that this is obviously not a substantive argument. Actually, it's the opposite of a substantive argument, and I'm not about to argue on the merits that Kagan is the best possible choice simply because her detractors on the right act like idiots.

But on a purely emotional level, Matt's prediction from last week seems pretty insightful.