Because of decades of judicial activism, the Supreme Court is now a political body as much as a legal one. Every supreme court appointment now has important political outcomes. It shouldn't but it does, the result of judicial activism by the court.
Accordingly, Bush can only pick nominees who have a thin file or no file. Any nominee who has a long history on the bench (a big file of whatever political leaning) is subject to violent opposition, no matter what positions have been taken in the past. Judicial activism has created a Frankenstein monster.
Mier has no judicial file. That is why Bush picked her.
DA740
Interesting take. I also find it very interesting that Bush has nominated two Supreme Court justices whose primary (and most recent) legal track record is in the private sector with big law firms. This in and of itself is a bit refreshing, in my opinion -- since it is probably the closest thing to a "non-lawyer" justice that we could expect to get on the court.