October 22, 2005
End the Quag-Miers
For several weeks I've tried to withhold judgment of President Bush's nominee for the Supreme Court, Harriet Miers. Even at the beginning of this debacle I never held the illusion that she was the most qualified of candidates, but the question for me was, would she be qualified enough.
I have been firmly underwhelmed by the arguments of Will and Krauthammer and other pundits, just as I've annoyed by the tone deaf defenses of Miers by the administration.
I wanted to hear from the nominee herself before I offered my opinion of her suitability for the Supreme Court.
I've had several days to digest her 57 pages of answers to Senate Judiciary Committee, and time to read commentaries from other pundits that I respect, and I have now formed an opinion that I think I can be comfortable with.
I oppose the Miers nomination.
I do not oppose her for her convictions; I oppose her because she appears to have none.
I do not oppose Harriet Miers for having the wrong academic pedigree; I oppose her for not being able to write a cogent, or even a comprehensible, opinion.
I am sure that Harriet Miers is wonderful human being and a good friend, but she does not belong on the Supreme Court of the United States.
After much consideration and thought on my own part, I quite agree. Miers is not a fit choice.
Miers thinks like a trial attorney: she represents those who are willing or able to pay for her firm's services, regardless of the potentially far-reaching implications of her actions. As such, she has spent all of her career sticking her finger in the air and going the way the money blows.
Bush makes the fatal mistake of believing that because she has been a loyal advocate for him over the years, she will be a good advocate for his political philosophy when he is not paying the bill.
She will not. She will be the next Souter, except far more dangerous. Inside the hidden confines of the Supreme Court, she will be loud, not quiet and unassuming; out of vain stubborness, she will rebel against suggestion from conservative bedrocks like Scalia and Thomas; she will be persuasive and bullying, like Earl Warren; and in her "come what may" philosophy, she may be the worst nightmare appointed by a Republican since Warren.
Time to stick a fork in this one. She's done.
Posted by: Atticus_NC at October 23, 2005 09:38 AMEveryone would do well to read the commentary at Mike's America.
http://haloscan.com/tb/hiltonhead/113001303685109787
Most adversaries continue to forecast Miers becoming the next Souter. If Clarence Thomas had just been nominated (in lieu of Miers) everyone would be saying the very same thing. Thomas did not have much of an originalist’s background; in fact he had quite a lot of radical left wing activity in his background. Please just read the referenced post.
Lastly, and this has stuck in my craw crosswise; what makes anyone so confident that our leaderless senate could defeat a Democrat filibuster against a demonstrable conservative originalist? The nuclear option? I seriously doubt the Republicans could or even would try such a political maneuver before mid term elections. The gang of fourteen casts a huge shadow over the ability to overcome a filibuster since O’Connor’s position is primarily labeled as being a centrist position on the court. Yeah, yeah, I agree, that has no bearing considering the sitting president is Republican and the Republicans have the majority in the senate. The voting constituency doesn’t necessarily agree with the rest of us conservatives. And if a Rogers Brown, or Luttig should end up being successfully filibustered, what would any future nominee have to look like?
I may not be happy about the lack of any kind of demonstrable background substantiating Mier’s nomination, but there may be another seat or two that will be more than worth attempting the nuclear option. I just haven’t read enough to make me ready to deploy all the troops to fight this marginal battle. The best maneuver may be to envelop the Democrats with Miers and then assault them on the next nomination. Something to think about…
I still don't have a handle on this linking stuff. Read the article at:
http://mikesamerica.blogspot.com/
The article is: Saturday, October 22, 2005
Miers Nomination: Charge Up the Freon and Keep on Chillin'
Please forgive my lack of Internet savvy.
Posted by: Old Soldier at October 23, 2005 08:29 PM
