Miers Critics "Far Right," Says Miers's Ex-White House Officemate

Amy Ridenour ^ | October 19, 2005 | Transcript

[Cautor]

TRANSCRIPT FROM TUCKER CARLSON SHOW:

Adding to the sexism, elitism, faith, and threat cards in the White House arsenal, comes the "far right" card.

Speaking in support of Harriet Miers on Tucker Carlson's MSNBC show last night was Brad Blakeman, described by Carlson as "a former deputy assistant to President Bush [who] shared an office with Harriet Miers for three years."

I'm posting the entire transcript of the Blakeman interview below. Go to the parts in bold to see the "far right" business. CARLSON: ...today one of the many questions regarding Harriet Miers has been answered, in part, anyway, in a questionnaire Miers filled out while running for the Dallas city council in 1989. She clearly indicated, or seemed to, that she's opposed to abortion, unless the mother's life was in danger.

Some conservatives are not satisfied with that, but one who appears to be, joins us now from Washington. He is Brad Blakeman. He's a former deputy assistant to President Bush. He shared an office with Harriet Miers for three years.

Mr. Blakeman, thanks for coming on. [SNIP]

BLAKEMAN: No. I think, Tucker, the president could have put forth Mother Teresa, and there were some on the far right that said, "Well, you know, she's not really religious enough for me."

CARLSON: That's totally not true. You know that that's not true.

BLAKEMAN: No, it is true. The fact of the matter is, the far right...

CARLSON: Hold on. Wait. Hold on. Slow down.

BLAKEMAN: The far right thinks that...

[Cautor]

Now we can add far right to the charges against those who oppose Miers.

[flashbunny]

well it's good to see the miers foot soldiers have adopted nearly all the tactics of the left as they bash conservatives.

Way to go!

[safisoft]

Now we can add far right to the charges against those who oppose Miers.

Mr. Blakeman, I suppose it depends upon one's perspective. If you sit to the left of center, someone in the middle is to your right - and a normal conservative would be "far right" - thanks for telling us, where you sit Mr. Blakeman.

[BibChr]

Incomplete, yes.

Is it inaccurate?

Or are you just looking to be offended, and spread offense?

[Cautor]

"well it's good to see the miers foot soldiers have adopted nearly all the tactics of the left as they bash conservatives."

Absolutely. Despicable.

[Cautor]

Ping

[Revolting cat!]

Far right? Far Out!

[cripplecreek]

Ive taken a wait and see attitude about Miers but Ive noticed that "far right" is now spit out with the same hatred as is normal for the DU.

[Stellar Dendrite]

ping

[Prince Charles]

So the 'Bots are now trying to use Mother Theresa to put lipstick on this pig? Nice. Real Nice.

[Cautor]

"Incomplete, yes.

Is it inaccurate?

Or are you just looking to be offended, and spread offense?"

My answer is yes, no, maybe

[Das Outsider]

Ive taken a wait and see attitude about Miers but Ive noticed that "far right" is now spit out with the same hatred as is normal for the DU.

Remember how we've been talking about this for months on the immigration threads, SD? About how the GOP stalwarts are going to assault the conservatives with a fury like none other?

[Cboldt]

Now we can add far right to the charges against those who oppose Miers.

I bet the WH picked that charge up from reading FR. Had to water it down from "Buchannanite," that would have been so far off base that it would be obviously wrong. But the other charges, now they are credible.

Signed,
Far right, elitist, sexist, cynical religious bigot.

Right Arm!

[Cautor]

"Ive taken a wait and see attitude about Miers but Ive noticed that "far right" is now spit out with the same hatred as is normal for the DU."

Well, I'm from the far right and I'm proud of it. In fact, I'm a card-carrying member of the far right group that participated in the right wing conspiracy that Hillary told you about. Maybe I'm so far right I'm just blinded by Miers' outstanding credentials for the SCOTUS job. After all, how many people get to schmooze with the President like she does?

[Cautor]

"So the 'Bots are now trying to use Mother Theresa to put lipstick on this pig? Nice. Real Nice"

I must admit I got a real LOL out of that line. And the smile still lingers.

[Stellar Dendrite]

WHAAAA! Why did you not pick the one WE want.
I'm sorry the Anti-Miers find the concept of a Constitutional Republic so hard to deal with. This is BUSH'S pick and NOT yours! If YOU want to select judges, YOU run for PRESIDENT!!

You KNEE JERK Bush HATERS should just PACK it UP and go BACK to DU!!

[Cautor]

"I bet the WH picked that charge up from reading FR."

You give them too much credit in this affair.

[VRWC For Truth]

Stick a fork in Bush

[Stellar Dendrite]

Funny how these individuals don't even know that in today's political system, the FOUNDING FATHERS would be on the "far right"!

[Paladin2]

Far Right? No, just the extremists, clearly not the mainstream. ;-)

[cripplecreek]

I guess I just put nation above party. Shame on me I guess.

Oh well. LOL

[Paladin2]

Vigilantes all.

[Paladin2]

Vigilantes all.

[Cautor]

"WHAAAA! Why did you not pick the one WE want.
I'm sorry the Anti-Miers find the concept of a Constitutional Republic so hard to deal with. This is BUSH'S pick and NOT yours! If YOU want to select judges, YOU run for PRESIDENT!!

You KNEE JERK Bush HATERS should just PACK it UP and go BACK to DU!!"

ROFLMAO! You've got the routine down pat. A few more lines and you'll have the entire repertoire of the Miers supporters down pat.

[MNJohnnie]

Gee you all convinced me. Let's just throw out that darn old Constitution and do what the perpetually whining wing of the Conservative Movement wants. No judge can be appointed until each and every self appointed member of the perpetually angry wing of the party is allowed to tell the President who to pick.

However, that DOES raise the ugly question of what to do why some of the hyper critics want one pick and some want a different one.

I suggest trial by combat between the two factions to determine who gets to pick.

[Cautor]

"Stick a fork in Bush"

I wonder how lame duck tastes when it's been cooked?

[indcons]

Thanks for the ping.

The WH/its flaks are using the ultimate card, the "far right" card. Add that to the sexism, elitism, faith, and "wait for the hearings" cards used so far.

More from the transcript. Interesting quotes in bold:

"CARLSON: What do you mean, the far right? What is it with the name calling? Why is it every time you talk to somebody from the White House, the far right, the sexist, the elitist? Why are you calling names? Why don't you make an argument that makes sense, rather than calling people names?

BLAKEMAN: You have to call it as you see it. Our critics come from the far right and the fringe of our party. And what they want is they think the Constitution should read, "for special interest groups (ph)."

CARLSON: I don't respect that at all. I think that's totally unfair thing to say. I've asked you totally fair, direct questions about what this woman believes. That's a legitimate concern. And to marginalize my opinions or those of any of the...

BLAKEMAN: I didn't single you out, Tucker. I just...

CARLSON: I know a lot of the-I'm offended by your characterization of the critics of her nomination, because many of those critics, many of whom I know very well and have worked with and eaten dinner with, aren't on the fringe of anything. They're totally mainstream, thoughtful, really smart people who have legitimate concerns. They're not name calling.

BLAKEMAN: Well, don't take it personally. All I'm saying is that the critics have said that the president should have sought more advice and consent of them. And quite frankly, had the president done that, those-those people would have deep-sixed the nomination of Harriet before the president had an opportunity to nominate her.

Interesting last quote there....

[VRWC For Truth]

Let the band play on!

[Panerai]

If wanting brilliance in a Supreme court nominee makes me the far Right, so be it. What are the Miers troops ? - The Mediocre wing of the party.

[A.Hun]

I believe he was just stating the obvious.

[A.Hun]

I believe he was just stating the obvious.

[Das Outsider]

I bet the WH picked that charge up from reading FR. Had to water it down from "Buchannanite," that would have been so far off base that it would be obviously wrong. But the other charges, now they are credible.

Here's the funny part, and the key to unlocking the intellectual vacuity of these charges against conservatives: You don't have to support Pat Buchanan to have issues with this judicial pick. Heck, you can love President Bush and still have misgivings about Harriet Miers as an SC Justice. I gave up on Pat because, well, he's wrong on quite a few tings these days and tends to sound more like MoveOn than National Review. That said, I'll give him credit when he's right--but in this case, it isn't just Buchanan! Conservatism isn't as monolithic as the Gammas would have the public believe.

When you have Republicans using charges and tactics reserved normally for the Left--crying "ism" and smearing principled dissenters--it's time to clean house.

How about this? Support Harriet Miers, or else very large men with very big mustaches and skinny little ties will leave two pounds of pastrami on your pillow.

[HisKingdomWillAbolishSinDeath]

The last thing we need on the Supreme Court now is a career "go along get along" politician like Miers. She will be snuggling up to Souter in no time.

[Stellar Dendrite]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1505621/posts?page=16#16

[counterpunch]

What an absolute red herring.
Who does this guy think is opposing Miers?
He must seriously consider Republicans to be unserious people.

The problem isn't that she's "not religious enough."
Hell, it was the White House who was pushing her religious credentials.
It was Bush who chose her for her Evangelical faith.

The rest of us oppose her because she has no serious legal qualifications for the highest Court in the land. It's not her Bible study that we're worried about, it's her Supreme Court case law study.

There are only maybe 10 people in the entire country whom are both qualified enough and acceptable for conservatives, and Miers is not one of them. Not even close. And that has nothing at all to do with religion.

[Cautor]

"Funny how these individuals don't even know that in today's political system, the FOUNDING FATHERS would be on the "far right"!"

If they could see today's political system, I doubt there would have been one.

[USAConstitution]

Apparently loyalty with Bush is a one-way street. You and he expect loyalty to him, but there is no loyalty to those that elected him and gave him the right to choose Supreme Court nominees. Nice.

Hope you know what you're doing. I think not. Arrogance such as this got Clinton impeached and forced Nixon to resign. Dubya is not immune to the laws of nature or the voters' wrath...

[Das Outsider]

If wanting brilliance in a Supreme court nominee makes me the far Right, so be it. What are the Miers troops ? - The Mediocre wing of the party

They're currently working the distorted populist routine. You know, the you-are-an-elitist-if-you-want-excellence canard.

I happen to be one of the conservative laity they refer to, an us good ol' regullur fokes ain't asking fer much. It's them dang e-leets an their highfalutin' principles. Shucks, I don't even know what a principle is, let alone what I'd do with it even if ah did know.

[Cautor]

"Gee you all convinced me"

Wow, we bought a real BushBot out of his trance. We are making headway.

[Rodney King]

Let's just throw out that darn old Constitution and do what the perpetually whining wing of the Conservative Movement wants. No judge can be appointed until each and every self appointed member of the perpetually angry wing of the party is allowed to tell the President who to pick.

I'm glad to see that you are not YELLING every other word, but, do you really think that it violates the constitution for critics of the president to post on message boards?

[fatima]

Odd.

[Cautor]

"I believe he was just stating the obvious."

If he is charging me with being a right winger, I proudly accept that moniker.

[Paladin2]

It's a posse of vigilantes riding to the sound of the gunfire.

[counterpunch]

BLAKEMAN: Well, don't take it personally. All I'm saying is that the critics have said that the president should have sought more advice and consent of them. And quite frankly, had the president done that, those-those people would have deep-sixed the nomination of Harriet before the president had an opportunity to nominate her.

No kidding. If Bush would have consulted with anyone else, then Miers would have never been the nomination. It appears Blakeman is saying that Bush was determined to nominate Miers regardless of what anyone else or the evidence had to say. Wow, talk about lending credibility to the critics of the war in Iraq.

Bush is really looking to tear down his whole operation over this idiotic appointment.

[Revolting cat!]

THIS JUST IN:
The Fat Lady has just entered the building!

[Stellar Dendrite]

i was mocking the pro miers crowd.

[Paladin2]

Bush is just likely warming up for the nomination of Gonzalez. Throwing some high heat.

[Map Kernow]

They've been playing the "far right" card for a while now. Variants: "fringer," "reactionary," "extreme right," etc. They're trying to re-define "conservatism," in effect, as "fidelity to Bush and his Supreme Will." Insisting on fidelity to traditional conservative values and principles is, like, SO-O-O-O '80's, y'know....

[Chong]

I confess, most sincerely, finally, and totally, that I am far out and too far right.

I am a "traitor" for not blindly supporting our President Bush's decision to nominate her.

I am a "traitor" and too far right for wondering if she were the BEST POSSIBLE CHOICE when other more qualified individuals were available. Such a traitor I am.

[Das Outsider]

If he is charging me with being a right winger, I proudly accept that moniker.

Charged with being a right-winger? What year is this? Did I step back in time to San Francisco, 1969, here?