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October 09, 2005
Justice Miers?
I'm not at all convinced that all the whining and croccodile tears from the extremist right are real; I don't think they can be trusted, and a public subterfuge designed to trick the mainstream public into being less threatened by a stealth conservative pick... well, it would be right up these guys' alley. I don't trust their complaining at all.
That said, assuming that a complete review and vetting of Miers' record reveals nothing that would show her to be another Bush/Rove/Dobson extremist, what should a responsible Senator do? On the one hand, as was the case in the Roberts hearings, disdain for the president doing the nominating isn't a good enough reason to oppose a nomination. On the other, it would certainly appear that Harriet Miers is among the least qualified nominees in Supreme Court history. (Why should she be any different than "Heckuva Job" Brownie or any other member of the Bush administration?) On the surface, it would appear that Harriet Miers' primary qualification is being one of Bush's inner circle. And I think that's more telling about the panic this president is feeling as his presidency slips away than it is of Miers.
I'm torn; opposing Miers and defeating her could end up giving Bush another chance, and given that he is feeling the need to kiss the backside of his base even more than usual right now, the last thing this country needs is an extremist second nominee served up by Bush to try and placate his angry extremist base. On the other hand, the Court is already handicapped with one underqualified conservative lackey (Thomas), and adding a second one doesn't bode well for the work the other seven have to do. And there's something to be said for Supreme Court justices, oh, you know... having judicial experience beyond protecting frat boys from themselves.
The jury's still out, kids. If the extremist right really doesn't like her, that in itself is half the reason needed to confirm. I'm just not convinced that all this hand-wringing is legitimate. It will be interesting to see what the vetting/review process reveals.
Comments
As a friend of ours said the other day, President Bush searched all the way down the hall to find who he thought would be the best candidate for the Supreme Court of the United States.
I understand Miers said that George Bush is the most brilliant man she has ever met. If she really said that than she should be institutionalized.
Posted by: Scott at October 9, 2005 06:23 PM
