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Bush: Miers' Religion Cited in Court Nod
AP ^ | October 12, 2005 | NEDRA PICKLER

Posted on 10/12/2005 9:40:01 AM PDT by West Coast Conservative

President Bush said Wednesday that Harriet Miers' religious beliefs figured into her nomination to the Supreme Court as a top-ranking Democrat warned against any "wink and a nod" campaign for confirmation.

"People are interested to know why I picked Harriet Miers," Bush told reporters at the White House. "Part of Harriet Miers' life is her religion."

Bush, speaking at the conclusion of an Oval Office meeting with visiting Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, said that his advisers were reaching out to conservatives who oppose her nomination "just to explain the facts." He spoke on a day in which conservative James Dobson, founder of Focus on Family, said he had discussed the nominee's religious views with presidential aide Karl Rove.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; Philosophy; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: bush; christianity; conservatism; evangelicalsonly; miers; quotas; religion; scotus; womenonly
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To: West Coast Conservative

I love this president- and have been determined to wait til the hearings to make up my mind about this nomination. I find this attempt to reassure or explain, is having the opposite effect on me.

I'm very disturbed to hear him say this.


61 posted on 10/12/2005 10:25:49 AM PDT by SE Mom (Keep an open mind; nothing will fall out.)
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To: jveritas

"In five words why are you against Harriet Miers nomination?"

Five words? That's silly. You believe that the reasons behind the choice of someone to serve at least 20 years on the highest court in the USA can be reduced to five words?

I'm afraid you're taking all of this far too casually. There is more at stake here than what you think Miers' vote on Roe v. Wade might be.

Every decision the SCOTUS takes has lasting effects. We do not know what Miers' knowledge of and attitute towards the Constitution is. She has no experience with constitutional issues. That, in my opinion, is unacceptable.

President Bush can help us here by defining the reasons she should be confirmed. So far, he has not done that.


62 posted on 10/12/2005 10:26:38 AM PDT by MineralMan (godless atheist)
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To: Stellar Dendrite

Will this finally FINALLY convince the leftists that conservatives are not interested in theocracy? (Probably not, unfortunately)


63 posted on 10/12/2005 10:27:18 AM PDT by Rutles4Ever (Stuck on Genius)
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To: borkrules
The White House is just inept on this nomination.

This is what it is starting to look like:


64 posted on 10/12/2005 10:27:26 AM PDT by Plutarch
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To: MineralMan

you are not alone....

this nomination is a fiasco.
Apparently her qualifications for the highest office in the land are:
1. She a woman. (meets a quota)
2. She's a Christian. (well, so are most of my friends, but I wouldn't put those guys on the supreme court.)

Other than that, there is absolutely nothing to to merit her selection to the supreme court.
I suspect Bush will push on, and then Dems and a sizeable number of Republicans will reject her nomination, and they will be right to do so.
In any event, the "political capital" the President won after reelection is slowly trickling away. Remember, we have the 2006 elections in which the dems could very well take one branch of congress, and then it's on to election 2008.
In a nutshell, the president has about a year and a half left in order to really set the agenda.


Instead of doing that, he's shooting himself in the foot live on tv.


65 posted on 10/12/2005 10:28:00 AM PDT by Will_Zurmacht
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To: jveritas

Unknown, Unknowable, Unqualifed, YES girl


66 posted on 10/12/2005 10:29:22 AM PDT by Agent Smith (Fallujah delenda est. (I wish))
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To: p[adre29

Some trap:

Senator: "Ms. Miers, how do you interpret Article VI, clause 3 of the Constitution?"


All they have to do is cite the constitution and ask a professed originalist what her opinion is on religious tests. Either she's against her own nomination (with W's words in quotes), or she's proven to be a phony originalist. They don't have to utter the word "religion" to back her into a corner.


67 posted on 10/12/2005 10:31:10 AM PDT by Rutles4Ever (Stuck on Genius)
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To: Agent Smith

Technically, Unqualified is incorrect I will replace it with UNDERqualified.


68 posted on 10/12/2005 10:32:40 AM PDT by Agent Smith (Fallujah delenda est. (I wish))
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To: West Coast Conservative
No surprise and indicative of how flawed this nomination truly is.

No surprise either that only women were considered. So much for MERIT.

69 posted on 10/12/2005 10:33:11 AM PDT by newzjunkey (CA: Stop union theft for political agendas with YES on Prop 75! Prolife? YES on Prop 73!)
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To: stylin19a

The president gets to do the nominating. He chooses those who impress him for a variety of reasons. By "her religion," he meant her dedication and strong beliefs. It had shaped an exemplary character, and the president responded to that.


70 posted on 10/12/2005 10:37:00 AM PDT by xzins (Retired Army Chaplain and Proud of It!)
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To: stylin19a
is this thin ice re: Article VI, clause 3 of the Constitution ?

No, because GWB has not required Harriet to take any type of religious test. This is merely his preference as he is entitled under Sec 2, Clause 2

71 posted on 10/12/2005 10:40:00 AM PDT by jla
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To: ContemptofCourt
People are interested to know why I picked Harriet Miers," Bush told reporters at the White House. "They want to know Harriet Miers' background. They want to know as much as they possibly can before they form opinions. And part of Harriet Miers' life is her religion."

If that's what he said exactly, it's not so bad. He doesn't say "because" anywhere. He's using that rambling style of his, lots of politicians do it, speaking in media-digestible bites that can be loosely connected logically. Sounds like he's just trying to round out her image with basic human-interest stuff. And after all, in that regard, religion IS important in her life.

However, given the way the media tore Bennett to ribbons, I'm sure they can spin this comment into an impeachable offense.

72 posted on 10/12/2005 10:43:00 AM PDT by Graymatter
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To: stylin19a

Well, to be strict, you have to go to the original meaning of "test." It has to do with doctrine, not affiliation. Under the 1678 act, even an Anglican who subscribed to transsubstantiation could not hold public office in England.


73 posted on 10/12/2005 10:44:08 AM PDT by RobbyS ( CHIRHO)
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To: Rutles4Ever; DTogo
When will the White House see the writing on the wall?

How much more damage does the Bush administration hope to inflict upon the Republican Party?

Miers needs to go, ASAP.

74 posted on 10/12/2005 10:44:34 AM PDT by Do not dub me shapka broham ("We don't want a Supreme Court justice just like George W. Bush. We can do better.")
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To: mlc9852
He's specifically prohibited from administering any religious test by the plain language of the Constitution.

He says he did consider her religious faith when selecting Miers.

Excellence is dead. The Constitution is dead. Facts are dead. No men need apply. Squishy impressions are IN. "Trust me" is IN. Smearing folks as "sexist" is IN. Innuendo is IN.

And as the caller to Rush just pointed out, Exodus Ministries works with convicts. Exodus International works with ex-homosexuals. When I discovered the disparity, I immediately suspected Bush deliberately mentioned Exodus Ministries as a smokescreen to send a "signal" to elements of the base that Miers is "true blue" expecting they'd mistake it for the ex-gay group.

75 posted on 10/12/2005 10:46:20 AM PDT by newzjunkey (CA: Stop union theft for political agendas with YES on Prop 75! Prolife? YES on Prop 73!)
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To: LN2Campy

So you think that if a person lives his life based on a philosophy he learns reading the gospels, that person is an idiot?

You think that Jesus was a second-rate hack, or that his teachings have no bearing on how we could live better lives?

Even if Jesus was just a man with a following, the teachings attributed to him define an excellent philosophy of life.


76 posted on 10/12/2005 10:51:12 AM PDT by CharlesWayneCT
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To: newzjunkey
He has known this woman for a number of years. He knows what her religion is. What sort of test do you think he asked her to perform? Face it, a person's religion has a lot to do with what they think and why they think it. Should those in the judiciary be forbidden from letting others know anything of their religion? And when the Dems start questioning her religion, it could get very interesting since most people perceive the Dems as anti-religion anyway.
77 posted on 10/12/2005 10:52:08 AM PDT by mlc9852
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To: DTogo
In Japanese the term is boketsu o horu : to dig one's grave.

What's the Japanese term for falling on your sword to save a superior from destruction at his own hand?

78 posted on 10/12/2005 10:52:45 AM PDT by cogitator
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To: jveritas
In five words why do you oppose Harriet Miers nomination?

She is not qualified. Period.

79 posted on 10/12/2005 10:56:23 AM PDT by cogitator
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To: newzjunkey

"I immediately suspected Bush deliberately mentioned Exodus Ministries as a smokescreen to send a "signal" to elements of the base that Miers is "true blue" expecting they'd mistake it for the ex-gay group."




I doubt it. That's just too subtle a distinction. What's more likely is that it was just a name on a CV. President Bush may not even be aware of either of the Exodus groups or that there are two of them. In any case, the info would show up on her CV anyhow, so it's irrelevant, IMO.

What is more troublesome to me is this: I don't agree with a number of the things President Bush has done during his term in office. CFR, for one. A lax attitude toward border security and especially illegal Mexican aliens. A failure to use the veto power prescribed in our Constitution, and others such as a lack of strong leadership on 2nd Amendment issues.

Suppose Miers actually does agree with President Bush, point for point, in her constitutional philosophy. Quite frankly, I don't think I would like it if George W. Bush was going to be on the SCOTUS, for the reasons listed above.

I want to know what the nominee thinks about the major constitutional issues. I don't want to hear the nominee SAY it. I want to see evidence that the nominee BELIEVES it.

That cannot happen with Miers, since she has no record regarding the Constitution. Therefore, I consider her an unsuitable nominee.

While some may trust our President, I question his judgment on some constitutional issues. I want verification from his nominee, whoever he or she may ultimately be. I do not believe that Miers will ever appear before the Senate. I believe she will "withdraw" from the nomination shortly.


80 posted on 10/12/2005 10:58:25 AM PDT by MineralMan (godless atheist)
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