So, now that Obama's made his pick, we'll waste no time beginning that great American parlor game, the office pool.  Or in this case, poll.

We've set up a new poll for you to vote on whether or not Kagan gets confirmed and how many votes she'll receive - if she gets to a vote.

Once you in the poll, add a comment with your entry for the EXACT vote count (along with your "real" name and email address).  The closest entry will win a free copy of "The Beginner's Guide to Grassroots Politics", (Level 1 in our Grassroots Training Series).

Here are your choices:

• Yes (she'll get between 80 and 100 votes)
• Yes (she'll get between 60 and 80 votes)
• Yes (she'll get a bare majority)
• No (she doesn't get a majority of the vote)
• No (her nomination will be withdrawn)

When anticipating Obama’s upcoming nomination to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, there are two approaches conservatives might consider:

Hope that Obama nominates the most conservative candidate, in case he gets confirmed;

Hope that Obama nominates the most liberal candidate, to highlight Obama’s radical ideology and make it easier for Republicans to reject her.

Relatively speaking, the most conservative candidate on Obama’s short list is D.C. Appeals Court Judge Merrick Garland.  The most liberal is Seventh Circuit Appeals Court Judge Diane Wood.

The problem with hoping for a moderate candidate is that anyone Obama is dreaming of nominating would be a disaster as far as adherence to the rule of law and upholding the Constitution.

The problem with hoping for a leftist candidate is that we cannot rely on Republican Senators to be courageous enough to block even the most egregious Obama nominee—even after the Democrats just declared war by passing a bill taking over the country’s health care system without a single Republican vote.

Given their dismal failure last summer to stand up to Our Wise Latina Sonya Sotomayor’s incendiary record (typical GOP critique during her confirmation hearings: Lindsey Graham’s creepy, drooling paean, “I like you!”), Republicans cannot be counted on to offer meaningful opposition to whichever train wreck Obama picks this year.  read more »