Posted on 10/03/2005 5:19:55 AM PDT by Former Military Chick
Oct. 3, 2005 — Harriet Ellan Miers is White House counsel and was formerly President Bush's personal lawyer in Texas. She first served in the White House as staff secretary and was deputy chief of staff before she was named counsel upon Alberto Gonzales' transition to attorney general.
When he was the governor of Texas, Bush once publicly introduced Miers as a "pit bull in size 6 shoes."
Born and raised in Dallas, Miers earned her undergraduate degree in mathematics and her law degree from Southern Methodist University. In addition to her legal career, she served one term on the Dallas City Council.
Miers, 60, broke barriers for women throughout her career. She reportedly was the first woman hired by the prestigious Dallas law firm Locke Purnell Boren Laney & Neely, where she became a successful commercial litigator. She also became the first female president of the Dallas Bar Association in 1985 and was the first woman elected president of the Texas Bar Association in 1992.
Miers met Bush in the 1980s, according to published reports, and she was counsel for his 1994 campaign for governor. He appointed her chair of the Texas Lottery Commission in 1995.
Miers then was president of Locke, Purnell, Rain & Harrell and co-managing partner of Locke Liddell & Sapp before she joined the White House in 2001.
In addition, Miers was named one of the Top 50 Most Influential Lawyers by the National Law Journal in 1998, and she received numerous other awards from groups including the Dallas Women Lawyers Association, the Anti-Defamation League and the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers.
As I said, it comes down to trust. You either trust GWB or you don't...period.
Clinton got to nominate an ACLU-lawyer with the most extreme credentials imaginable without a peep from the GOP. The GOP is spineless.
My congratulations on that post. You summed it up for a lot of us here.
I originally brought up Gonzales as an example of the fact that we cannot automatically assume that Bush would appoint a conservative.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1495606/posts?page=185#185
I don't have a problem with Miers per se, it's just that we really don't know anything about her.
I don't have a problem with Miers per se, it's just that we really don't know anything about her.
I am aware that Bush has known her for a long time, and I trust that when he interviewed her, he focused on her Constitutional philosophy. However, a lot of judges have been known by the presidents who appointed them, but once installed they have developed a "new" philosophy. A lifetime appointment can give judges the latitude to develop new attitudes or become intoxicated with their power. We need to remember that many of the justices who have torn this country apart were appointed by Republicans.
Yes anyone can change and some do. If not for change overtime we'd never convert a soul to conservatism, Christianity, etc. So I'll go with the President's decision as he has a lot more knowledge of Ms. Miers than I do or will ever have.
Take care and have a good one. The last word is yours, I'm finished with this part of the discussion.
I'm not disagreeing with you. I trust Bush and I hope we have the "real thing" in Miers.
I don't know all the details about this ice situation you're so worked up about, and I bet you don't know them either. Nevertheless, the facts point to a massive, utter, complete failure upon the part of local and state officials in Louisiana--and the opposite in Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and the Carolinas where hurricanes and floods also happen.
Blaming the federal government for the failure of locals is a typical response--no one likes to think "their guy" screwed things up. But in this case, when you look at ALL the other disasters FEMA has worked on, one MUST reach the conclusion it was the local officials in Louisiana who are to blame.
The more I hear and read about her, the more comfortable I am with her on the court. I only wish that Bush could make one or two more appointments in the next two years.
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