I'd like to see that "promise" sourced. A "known" conservative? Known to who? I don't believe Bush ever said that.
Al Gore: "And Governor Bush has declared to the anti-choice group that he will appoint justices in the mold of Scalia and Clarence ThomasThere are many references to then candidate George Bush asserting that he would nominate Supreme Court Justices in the mold of Thomas and Scalia. Al Gore may be a liar, but he did't lie about that."And when the phrase a strict constructionist is used and when the names of Scalia and Thomas are used as the benchmarks for who would be appointed, those are code words, and nobody should mistake this, for saying the governor would appoint people who would overturn Roe v. Wade. It's very clear to me. I would appoint people that have a philosophy that I think will be quite likely would uphold Roe v. Wade."
The promise was again asserted in 2004. If you know of a repositiry for Bush stump speeches, I'll find a direct quoote for you from one or more of those.
The legal opinions of Scalia and Thomas were well known in the year 2000. Known to anybody who is able to read and understand their writings.
It all depends on the meaning of "known conservative". What Bush DID say was that he intended to appoint Supreme Court justices "... in the mold of Scalia and Thomas...". Now, Scalia and Thomas ARE considered "conservative", so in effect, Bush DID promise to appoint "known conservatives".
Sounds like the anti-Miers folks will repeat their talking points, ad nausea, until the truth is overwhelmed.