Estrada, you may recall, is the brilliant conservative lawyer whose nomination for the D.C. Circuit was blocked by Democrats early last decade; his letter supporting the nomination of Elena Kagan — whom he knows from law school — is here. The letter is quite substantive and graceful, as is to be expected from Estrada, and bears reading. Here’s one passage:
[I]t brings no credit to our government, and risks affirmative harm to our courts, when our elected representatives simply swap talking points — emphasizing the same considerations they previously minimized or derided — only to revert to their former arguments as soon as electoral fortunes turn.
And one more: “As has often been said, though rarely by senators whose party did not control the White House at the time, elections have consequences.”
Thanks to How Appealing for the pointer.