Fact Check: Does Kagan Understand “Ordinary Americans"

Despite Democrats’ Claims That Kagan Has “Practical Experience” Understanding “Ordinary Americans,” Kagan Has Actually Spent Most Of Her Time “In Academia” Or “Inside The Beltway”
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): “Your Work On The Frontlines Tells Me That You Have Practical Experience Thinking About The Impact Of Laws And Policies On The Lives Of Ordinary Americans.” (Judiciary Committee, U.S. Senate, Hearing, 6/28/10)

KAGAN “HAS SPENT THE BULK OF HER PROFESSIONAL CAREER IN ACADEMIA” AND “INSIDE THE BELTWAY”
·         “Obama Promised Judges With At Least A Passing Knowledge Of The ‘Real World,’ But Kagan’s Experience Draws From A World Whose Signposts Are Distant From Most Americans: Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Princeton University, Harvard Law School And The Upper Reaches Of The Democratic Legal Establishment.” (“Is Kagan From The 'Real World'?” Politico, 5/11/10)

·         POLITIFACT: “It’s Fair To Say That Kagan Has Spent The Bulk Of Her Professional Career In Academia At The University Of Chicago And Harvard Law School, And At Various Positions Inside The Beltway. … [Sen. John] Cornyn's claim that Kagan ‘has spent her entire professional career in Harvard Square, Hyde Park and the D.C. Beltway’ is True.” (“Republicans Say Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan Is A Product Of Harvard Square, Hyde Park And The D.C. Beltway,” PolitiFact, 5/10/10)

·         “A Native Of New York, Kagan Has Worked Her Entire Life Along Pennsylvania Avenue Or Near Harvard Square And Hyde Park. Her Friendships Are, For The Most Part, Inseparable From Her Closest Professional Associations.” (“Kagan Has Many Achievements, But Her World Has Been Relatively Narrow,” The Washington Post, 6/10/10)

“Most Of The People In Kagan's Life Are Important People, Bound To Her In Tightly Drawn Concentric Circles. Her Friends Are Elite Lawyers Of A Certain Set Or Democratic Operatives With Staying Power.”(“Kagan Has Many Achievements, But Her World Has Been Relatively Narrow,” The Washington Post, 6/10/10)

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