Posted on 10/03/2005 4:06:25 AM PDT by johnmecainrino
Harriet Miers
I honestly thought that too. I must be dreaming the same dream.
She did have an interesting experience on the Texas Lottery Commission.
She was appointed to that job by GWB, FWIW.
http://www.lottoreport.com/dmnexcerpt.htm <- article critical of business plan
http://txlottery.org/news/view_press_release.cfm?id=105 <- Press release
http://txlottery.org/news/view_press_release.cfm?id=107 <- resignation announce
And here is a preview of a potential attack by the DEM moonbats ...
Newsweek's Michael Isikoff - July 17, 2000The biggest issue before Miers and the commission was whether to retain lottery operator Gtech, which had been implicated in a bribery scandal. Gtech's main lobbyist in Texas in the mid-1990s? None other than that same Ben Barnes who had the goods on how Bush got into the Guard and avoided Vietnam.
In 1997, Barnes was abruptly fired by Gtech. That's a bad thing, right? Well, on the other hand, they also gave him a $23 million severance payment. A short time later, Gtech -- despite the ongoing scandals -- got its contract renewed over two lower bidders. A former executive director thought the whole thing stunk:
The suit involving Barnes was brought by former Texas lottery director Lawrence Littwin, who was fired by the state lottery commission, headed by Bush appointee Harriet Miers, in October 1997 after five months on the job. It contends that Gtech Corp., which runs the state lottery and until February 1997 employed Barnes as a lobbyist for more than $3 million a year, was responsible for Littwin's dismissal.
Littwin's lawyers have suggested in court filings that Gtech was allowed to keep the lottery contract, which Littwin wanted to open up to competitive bidding, in return for Barnes's silence about Bush's entry into the Guard.
Barnes and his lawyers have denounced this "favor-repaid" theory in court pleadings as "preposterous . . . fantastic [and] fanciful." Littwin was fired after ordering a review of the campaign finance reports of various Texas politicians for any links to Gtech or other lottery contractors. But Littwin wasn't hired, or fired, until months after Barnes had severed his relationship with Gtech.
Littwin reportedly settled with Gtech for $300,000. This all could be interesting fodder for a Miers confirmation hearing this fall.
In 1990 the economy in Dallas was red hot and property values were soaring, the City Council was just trying to keep up.
They overstepped with Bork, so to show their political savvy they crucified Thomas?
The point is, forget about how tough the confirmation is. When it gets down to it, the congress is still majority Republican whereas the Democrats controlled in Thomas' case. Delivering the questionable votes that you point out doesn't take into account the fact that the President still wields power over GOP congressmen, ESPECIALLY with a mid-term election on the way. They might add some drama to the proceedings, but in the end, they would vote party-line on Jones, Luttig, whoever. We can't compromise because we're afraid someone MIGHT not get confirmed. That's defeatism at its worst because it bastardizes what we stand for.
I think you guys need to wait 24 hrs. because within the last hour Rush has just reported that the new Supreme Court cand. is an evangelical Christian who attempted to remove the pro-abortion slant of the Texas ABA.
www.judgegeorgegreer.com
When she was in Texas as a private lawyer of Bush's family... Antonin Scalia was teaching Law in Virginia and Chicago.
I googled Miers and Texas Lottery Commission a few minutes ago. She's been in the news, but likely not the biggest story in the state, just due to the nature of lottery in the scheme of things.
She's an enigma to me at this point in time, but mostly an unknown quantity.
There was a chance we WOULD NOT win WWII. I'm glad we fought the good fight anyway. We, and the world, are better for it.
You have to be kidding. You are condemning 50 percent of the Republican Party because they were not born Republican, that is self defeating and insulting to every former Democrat. That is a real smart way to build the party.
You are exactly right, the one issue obsessive posters get old, quickly.
Been watching Star Wars recently?
I personally know lawyers that worked with her for many years, and according to them her personal philosophy is a strict Jeffersonian originalism.
This may be a bit too libertarian for some conservatives, but if she wants to pare down the scope and power of the Federal government, I'm all for it.
You were supposed to keep Harriet's Lottery thing out of this! You just made some of the cheerleaders drop their pom-poms. Next thing you know, somebody is gonna start digging into her ABA background, and find her support of LIBERAL issues.....
:-)
I'm not.
I think Bush's Christian beliefs are deeply held and he would not betray them just to avoid a Senate fight. I think he believes he knows what makes her tick and sees in her someone with core values like his own.
I have no doubt nor reservations concerning his Christian beliefs nor his allegiance to them. I also believe that though by necessity he had to take politics into consideration, he picked her according to his promise to nominate someone who would interpret and rule on the law . . . not legislate from the bench.
There lies the unknown . . .
Ponder this quote from a Dallas Morning New story published in July 1991:
"In my judgment, part of her achievements are attributable to her not being a feminist," says Morris Harrell, dean of Dallas trial lawyers and also a partner in Locke Purnell. Then he pauses to reconsider: "Hell, maybe she is a feminist. I don't know."
Apparently, even the people who knew her didn't know her. From the same story: Over time, she also has developed a lawyerly caginess that enables her to play her cards -- personal, political and professional -- very close to the vest. She weighs her words judiciously, seldom allowing an incautious phrase to escape. "People who see Harriet as a litigator don't see her tender, personal side," says Nathan Hecht, a Texas Supreme Court judge and a close friend. "And family and friends don't see her going into the courtroom to duke it out." The vast difference in perception is most marked when Ms. Miers' council career is the subject. "I know her less today than I did the day after she was elected (in 1989)," says Jerry Bartos, a City Council colleague who frequently has been Ms. Miers' opponent. "I'd say she is the consummate loner." "She's independent. She's a thinker, not a clone," counters council member Al Lipscomb, who also has had run-ins with Ms. Miers. "She's a very independent thinker," echoes Mayor Annette Strauss. But, in acknowledging Ms. Miers' "loner" status, the mayor gives a Zen-like answer: "It is difficult -- because the right answer is not right for everybody." For Harriet Miers in particular, two years in political office seemed to hold few right answers. She regards her council service, as she does most things in life, as an educational experience. But she admits it's been frustrating. "The most disappointing aspect about being in public office has been observing the impact of politics," she says. "You see decisions that are more political than what I might view as the right result." Ms. Miers, 45, gives the impression she might have been happier if the City Council had worked more like a courtroom. She is most comfortable within the legal system, within its codified precedents and presentations of fact-based logic. But on Dallas' City Council there were, as she puts it, "Eleven different people with 11 different agendas." Personalities clashed, and questions of fact and logic often surrendered to raw emotion and ego. As an at-large representative, Ms. Miers says, "I'm committed to make decisions based on the facts of the particular issue, and what I believe is in the best interest of the city." She pauses, firmly setting her small, square jaw: "Not one part of the city, but the entire city." "When she said she was running to represent all of Dallas, she meant it," says Judge Hecht. "She took the job, viewing the people of Dallas as her client, and she tried to represent them all." To some, however, she seemed to play the role of devil's advocate. "There was no communication, no coalition," Mr. Bartos says, citing Ms. Miers' coolness toward fellow council members. "In politics, you have to build coalitions, and you have to communicate." His blunt assessment of her effectiveness on the council: "Zero." Mr. Lipscomb says, more diplomatically, that Ms. Miers' "toughness might have repulsed some of the men" on City Council. "She picks up on details. Nothing gets past her," he says. "She's not a person that you can predict -- but that is her right." Ms. Miers has a reputation for studying issues carefully before she votes. But she has switched her stance on some crucial issues, and council insiders perceived her moves as indecisiveness. Such key votes included the city's stand on the Wright amendment; the public-housing desegregation lawsuit settlement; and Dallas' recent, bitter redistricting battles. Two months ago, Ms. Miers publicly criticized the fact that council members fought to preserve their districts under the 14-1 plan. Her attitude, while idealistic, struck some observers as a bit naive. Says Mr. Lipscomb: "That is a political reality in all redistricting. The incumbents always try to protect themselves." Ms. Miers reviews her own council term in typically dispassionate fashion. "I'd like to say I'm not doctrinaire," she says. "I'm not going to be influenced by how my vote is perceived. "I want to be respected, and I want to be viewed as being true to my convictions," she adds, her flat Texas drawl turning steely. "But I don't much care what people think. I can't afford to."
I DON'T REALLY HAVE ANY COMMENT UNTIL MORE INFO GETS SHAKEN OUT. I JUST WANT TO BE PART OF THIS HUMONGOUS THREAD!! BTTT
You're some conservative, getting all happy and clappy over a Newsweak hit piece.
Next thing you know, somebody is gonna start digging into her ABA background, and find her support of LIBERAL issues.....
From what I've seen, she fought the ABA's positions on abortion.
First rule of holes - when you find yourself in one, stop digging...
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