Posted on 10/14/2005 11:52:28 AM PDT by Stellar Dendrite
Stephen G. Peroutka, chairman of the board of governors for the National Pro-Life Action Center (NPLAC), issued the following statement calling for the withdrawal of Harriet Miers' nomination as associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States:
"The time has come for President Bush to realize and accept that his nomination of Harriet Miers to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court was ill-advised and he should withdraw her nomination. With 45 million children's lives lost to abortion, the stakes are simply too high to gamble on another 'stealth' candidate. If the president remains reluctant to take this step, then NPLAC believes that Ms. Miers should then remove herself from this process.
"The president promised to nominate Scalia- and Thomas-like justices, but there is simply no evidence that he has honored this promise. Adding insult to injury, President Bush, the first lady and their emissaries have resorted to infantile attacks upon conservative opposition to Miers by pretending that the opposition is some form of latent sexism. This is not only insulting to conservatives, but to the collective intellect of the American people, and we implore the president to put an end to this petty tactic.
"It is absurd to accuse a movement that has supported the efforts of great women like Margaret Thatcher and Phyllis Schlafly, and championed the cause of judges like Edith Jones and Janice Rogers Brown of chauvinism.
"Criticism of the president's choice has nothing to do with the fact that Ms. Miers is a woman and has everything to do with feeling betrayed by the president. Much has been written about the high value this president places on loyalty, but loyalty is not a one-way street and pro-family conservatives are now asking for it from this president.
"Harriet Miers may well be a phenomenal lawyer who is pro-life and devoutly Christian, but the fact is, we will never know because of the flawed nature of the modern confirmation process. By adopting the 'Ginsberg cloak of silence,' the Administration has ensured that the American people will never truly know the judicial temperament of Ms. Miers or any other potential nominee. Pro-lifers can no longer accept this lowering of the bar.
"We must fix this process by realizing that there is nothing to be gained by concealing a nominee's judicial philosophy and temperament. Following this practice has led to nothing but repeated disappointment for those seeking to return constitutionality to the Supreme Court and put an end to the plague of abortion."
ping
Can't we wait until she at least has her hearings before bringing out the long knives?
In a word, "no." The fight is everything...
The "cloak of silence" will remain. Edward M. Kennedy saw to that.
Why? It doesn't matter whether she's a conservative, she might be; but Bush could have nominated someone we know to be. There is no reasons to put conservatives through a "trust-me" when Bush has not exactly been the right-wing's friend.
did you even read the press release? the part in bold reflects the nature of the comments i've been making regarding this BS of "waiting till the hearings".
as ive said, she will likely invoke the ginsburg rule on matters tthat will come before the court. no matter what answers she gives, we do not know if she will drift leftward within a decade or less. given her past of supporting affirmative action and the creation of a "women's studies" lecture series, trepidation is warranted
Ditto.
"Correct Flawed Process"
Gosh, I wonder why the President didn't think about that?
Why nominate someone you think is qualified and able to be confirmed when you could wage a protracted fight to try to change congress?
Now maybe the president is wrong, we'll know more at the hearings, but reforming the way congress does anything is a massive and risky undertaking.
Sounds like they want a litmus test.
And the dominos start to fall on Friday afternoon. Thanks a lot Andy Card!
It's a done deal SD. Let it go. Bush isn't pulling back her nomination and I doubt if Miers will remove herself. Conservatives wanted Bush to pick Lutigg, Brown, Jones or another rightwing firebrand. It didn't happen. We've all been disappointed and frustrated. But Miers is qualified. From everything I've read she is a pro-life conservative who will interpret the Constitution with the original intent that the Founders envisioned. She probably won't turn out to be a Scalia or a Thomas. But there is no evidence she will turn out to be another Stephens, O'Conner or a Souter either.
I voted proudly to give Geo. Bush his job. Then, I voted to retain him. None of the people casting aspersions could ever in their dreams get elected. As GW 41 sez: "The President can take it!" My President deserves better than that. Folks, get a grip! Support the President now!
...tick...tick...tick...tick...tick...
Is anyone keeping a running tally of the unappeasable Bush haters who are so numerous yet are really just a tiny minority?
LOL
It is unfortunate that the part of the pro-Life community has joined the Left in placing all their hopes regarding the legalization of abortion in the Supreme Court, when it rightly belongs in the US Congress.
And while the candidate is unknown to some, she is not unknown to the President that nominated her. These types of announcements are premature to say the least.
Why does it matter what her faith is or isn't, has America become a Theocracy? If she's a strict Constitutionalist, which we DON'T know, everything else should fall into place regardless of her faith.
Her faith is one of the LAMEST arguments out of the White House to support her qualifications, after her gender.
When in doubt, I'm inclined to trust Bush.
im sure youve seen it already but
"Religion When It Suits"
http://bench.nationalreview.com/archives/078982.asp
Since "strict constitutionalist" has consistently been one of Bush's criteria for selecting judges, isn't it a good bet she is?
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