Posted on 10/05/2005 7:12:52 PM PDT by Aussie Dasher
(AgapePress) - During a heartfelt and compassionate broadcast this morning (Wednesday), Dr. James Dobson explained why he believes Harriett Miers -- President Bush's pick to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the U.S. Supreme Court -- deserves the support of Christians and other family advocates.
The Focus on the Family founder took all of his daily broadcast today to share why he believes the relatively unknown attorney from Texas who has served as White House counsel under the current Bush administration will be a good addition to the high court. He said he knows and has spoken to people who have known Miers for years, and that he has confidence in those people's opinions.
Those individuals, says Dobson, have confirmed reports that the 60-year-old nominee is an active and dedicated Christian who serves in her nondenominational, evangelical Dallas church -- Valley View Christian Church. "She is a deeply committed Christian," said Dobson, "and a tithe-paying member" of her church, according to those conversations. LifeNews.com reported this week that Miers has taught Sunday school and served on the church's mission board for years. And the pastor of her church, according to that report, is a staunch pro-lifer.
According to a New York Times article yesterday, Miers made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ in 1979 and was baptized soon thereafter at Valley View Christian Church. Her longtime friend, Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan L. Hecht -- who prayed with Miers when she accepted the Lord -- told the Times he knows where she stands on abortion. "Yes, she goes to a pro-life church," he said, adding, "I know Harriet is, too."
Dobson also took time during his broadcast to address recent allegations that Miss Miers, in the late 1980s, had voiced support for homosexual rights and financially supported the presidential campaign of Democrat Al Gore. Dobson noted that in a 1989 survey Miers said she supported equal, not special, rights for homosexuals -- a stand consistent with his own beliefs, said Dobson; and in the same survey also state she did not support repeal of the Texas sodomy law, a statute that was later overturned by the Supreme Court in Lawrence v. Texas.
And regarding the Gore campaign contribution, Dobson pointed out that in 1988 Al Gore was pro-life -- a stand the vice president-to-be would ultimately change, perhaps for political expediency, Dobson suggested.
But aside from Miers' apparent stand on hot-button social issues, Dr. Dobson spent ample time explaining why he believes President Bush ought to be trusted on his selection of the former head of the Texas State Bar. Thus far, he said, the president has been true to his campaign promise to place conservative, strict constructionist judges on the federal bench. So the ministry founder wonders why -- with his political legacy hinging so heavily on his judicial appointments -- would the president "sabotage" that legacy with an appointment inconsistent with his own tenets.
"It would contradict his basic philosophical beliefs," said Dobson. And lest he be accused of being a "shill" for the president, Dobson noted that he does not agree with every policy coming out of the White House, such as how to deal with illegal immigration. But as far as the Miers nomination is concerned, he said, "I believe in trusting this president at this time."
Dobson concluded by saying that if he is wrong on the nomination of Harriett Miers, he will come before the microphone and "repent."
Reports Distorted, Says AIM Meanwhile, the watchdog group Accuracy in Media says some members of the conservative media are distorting portions of Harriett Mier's record. AIM says reports that the Supreme Court nominee is on record supporting the establishment of the International Criminal Court and homosexual adoptions are erroneous.
"There's no evidence for the charge," says AIM's Cliff Kincaid, adding that the "documents" allegedly supporting the reports have been "seriously distorted by WorldNetDaily and other outlets."
AIM also says a Chicago Sun-Times columnist is guilty of perpetuating the inaccurate reports. The columnist, Robert Novak, wrote that Miers chaired a panel the "recommended legalization of gay adoption and establishment of an International Criminal Court." But Kincaid says Miers was chair of a panel that simply passed along recommendations from various entities in the American Bar Association for consideration by members of the ABA.
AIM says "there's no evidence that [Miers] put her personal stamp of approval on those controversial positions."
OK I am sold. I will support President Bush's pick for SCOTUS based on trust alone - how bad could Souter really be?
I heard Dobson on the radio. He knows something. I suspect he's talked to Harriet's pastor :)
I'm sure she is a commited christian, but that is not in and of itself qualification to be on the supreme court, and it certainly doesn't make her the best choice for conservatives. The fact that she's over 60 should bother people more than it is. That fact alone indicates to me that Bush is not looking to change the supreme court long-term. Seems like a placeholder.
"support President Bush's pick for SCOTUS based on trust alone - how bad could Souter really be?"
That's exactly what I got out of this also. She was recommended to Dobson by people he trusts... SO WHAT?! Why would I trust an anonymous friend of Dobson with a supreme court nomination? This is far less convincing than Bush saying to trust him (which I also don't find sufficiently convincing).
...and she prays, tithes at her Church.
Yep, sounds like another Souter to me.
Wow, now Dobson AND the Democats think she's a good nominee. Thats good enough for me.
\sarc
Well, if GWB thought he could avoid a fight, it's the greatest miscalculation since New Coke.
:D
That's fine for him. But if she turns out to be another disaster, how would that remove her from the court? The lives of millions of unborn children are on the line here.
Wow, and I thought the reaction to Judge Roberts here on FR was bad! It's getting so tiresome reading the replies to these threads on Ms. Miers. Many of the posters who are against her seem stuck on Souter. I am not saying that's not an important consideration, but can we wait a little while longer, when we know much more about her, to wail and gnash our teeth?
Sometimes I think FR has done a "Freaky Friday" thing and transformed itself into DU.
I've been listening to Dr. Dobson for twenty years and he has never let me down.
As I see it, Miers is at best a vote and a place-holder, perhaps for as long as 20 years. She is out of her league. Scalia (and perhaps Roberts) will have to do the heavy lifting for the right for most things. Thomas will continue to knock it out of the park on state-federal issues. Miers will just be along for the ride.
Distorted reports? That's sounds like what the MSM uses. Why are so-called conservatives dealing in misinformation?
And should it escape anybodies attention that here is a clear cut example of a report that uses misinformation to make Mier look like a lefty.
Me too. There are a huge number of people here who aren't particulalry concerned about whether or not his nominee ia a strong originalist constitutional scholar.
Perhaps, but another thing to consider is that Bush's pick here may affect who decides to retire in the next three years. If Bush managed to install a solid conservative, Ginsburg might be more apt to try to outlast Bush than if she sees someone more moderate.
The nomination of Miers was an invitation to a fight in which the President had seized the high ground.
The Democrats lose if they don't fight her, and they lose if they fight her.
For the President it is a win-win situation. The only miscalculation the President made was in the solidarity among conservatives... or rather the lack of it.
Problem with Dobson and too many others are basing their support because she is a Born Again
Roe VS Wade should be overturned because it is an abomination and twisting of the constitution NOT on a religious basis
I could care less if she is a atheist as long as she is a constitutionalist ( though at this point in our history it has been violated so much I really wonder if it matters
Social Security--Medicare--Federal Education etc etc are all outrages but don't look for them to be voided )
"Me too. There are a huge number of people here who aren't particulalry concerned about whether or not his nominee ia a strong originalist constitutional scholar."
And how do we know whether she is or not? All I'm asking, which may be entirely too much for some here, is to give it a rest, give it awhile, get to know more about her, and then we can all jump on that darned ol' President Bush for disappointing us all *once again*.
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