Kagan's confirmation means little

Elena Kagan will become the 112th Justice on our Supreme Court. But that is not a surprise. With an overwhelming Democratic majority in the Senate, President Obama could have nominated Kermit the Frog and he would have been accepted with praise. It is the next Justice who will truly alter the Court. All we can do is hope and pray that the selection will not come until, at least after this fall's mid-term elections, if not until after a new Republican president in January 2013.

That isn't a very outlandish scenario at this point. President Obama is looking more and more like Jimmy Carter: a flash in the pan out of his element. Only, perhaps, worse, if the expected drubbing of the Democrats actually materializes this November. The President would never get Kagan past a GOP Senate with such a solid majority as the Democrats enjoy today.

That is, if the Republicans have finally learned the lesson that it's okay to employ power when you have it. The GOP must realize that any Democratic calls for quarter, for reaching across the aisle, when they are out of power are mere charades. Democrats never, ever, ask for conciliation or consideration for Republican views when the left holds the cards. The whole health care debate has shown us as much, and history is rife with left wing power plays when they hold the reigns.

If you get the broad majority we currently expect in November, use it, GOP. The Democrats do not care what you think when you're in the minority. Ignore them when you're in the majority. That ain't sour grapes. That's the politics of raw power, and the left needs a strong dose of that bitter medicine.