Kagan Hearings Kick Off Monday

Let the games begin. Elena Kagan's Supreme Court Senate confirmation hearings begin Monday. They’re expected to not only provide a forum in which Congress can vet Obama's nominee, but also to give Senators running for re-election the chance to slip some campaigning into a high-profile political event. Partisan fights will not be left at the door: In continuing to attack the Democrats, Republicans will press Kagan on such divisive issues as health-care reform and the financial regulation bill that's on the table. GOP Senators are also expected to interrogate Kagan heavily on gun control. Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said, "The American people are not happy with the expanding power of the federal government. Democrats are expected to push back by portraying Republicans as entangled in corporate interests, bringing BP and the Gulf oil disaster into the conversation.