Posted on 10/21/2005 2:04:46 PM PDT by Stellar Dendrite
(Note: personally I do not want to get into pro or anti abortion issue; this is more of an examination of spin doctoring and how it impacts the perception of Miers' judicial philosophy than something that should be construed as pro-abortion or anti-abortion)
The reason this is important is because it goes to the heart of why conservatives are being asked to trust the nomination of Miers.
Very early in the game, Miers was billed as a former Catholic. While that may not mean all that much to some, it means a lot to Catholics.
And also to evangelicals who know what that means.
Catholics are brought up to believe in God, the sanctity of life (anti-abortion), and marriage (anti-gay and anti-divorce). These are very strict beliefs with Catholics.
Claims were made very early (apparently as early as Oct. 3, the day of the nomination announcement) that Miers was a former Catholic. This helped grease the wheels for the spin that she would overturn Roe v. Wade if appointed. Judge Hecht supported this belief. Neither the WH nor Miers bothered to correct the mis-impression until this time, and even then it was not corrected by them, but by third party investigation of records.
Meanwhile, announcements like that of Hecht, Leo Leonard (a Catholic), Dobson and other evangelicals resounded in the news, in the controlled vacuum in which there was relatively little hard facts known about Miers, and those hard facts which did exist tended to point to a moderate rather than a conservative with a strict constructionist philosophy that would be consistent with overturning Roe v. Wade.
Without this spin, there would have been much more focus on the liberal aspects of Miers' record. Dobson, Hecht, and Leonard were used as political shielding for the crucial first week of the nomination against otherwise skeptical conservatives, Catholics, and Christians.
The spin has been uncovered to be just that. And the White House has been exposed for its opportunism and deliberate mishandling of the introduction of the Miers nomination.
Check the Catholic and evangelical blogs. They are filled with references to Miers' supposed views based on these early but false indicators. With the initial national attention to the nomination over, these initial but less than truthful impressions linger in the public consciousness.
To add to this, Hecht vouched for Miers' ability as a lawyer. Yet just how much that he says about her judicial philosophy and abilities can be trusted, given that this information has now been demonstrated to be incorrect?
A lot has been written of Miers' character based on these initial impressions-- all of which now need to be revisited.
Dobson, Leo, Hecht, and others are either playing the American public on Miers' views, or have themselves been played.
See also:
How do we know Miers is pro-Roe?
http://info-theory.blogspot.com/2005/10/overview-how-do-we-know-miers-is-pro.html
"What of the President's actions? Here there is conclusive proof that Bush is pro-Roe in the nomination of SCOTUS justices. Furthermore, through the disconnect on the Dobson solicitation, it is evident that this predisposition in nominating pro-Roe justices extends to Miers. Why else would the White House lie to Dobson about Miers being a first pick while providing him no guarantees on Miers? This is an extremely risky move and demonstrates sufficient mens rea for the conclusion that Bush has intentionally nominated a stealth pro-Roe justice."
LOL! Good one.
Anyone more familiar with evangelicals and Dr. McCarty may want to clarify further.
Miers grew up in Dallas attending Catholic and Protestant churches, said her sister-in-law Elizabeth Lang-Miers [pretty close relative], a state appellate judge. Miers' mother "imbued" her children with a strong sense of Christian faith, said Lang-Miers, but she added that she wasn't sure whether Miers considered herself Catholic or Protestant growing up."My impression at the time and since was that she considered herself, if anything, Catholic. But she really didn't consider it very much," said Hecht. ...
Ron Key, a former minister at the church, said Valley View has supported Christian ministries that try to persuade unwed mothers to consider adoption over abortion. ...
But Hecht also said that both he and Miers have recently left the church, joining about 200 others who are forming another congregation after disputes about staffing, governance and worship style since the arrival last year of Barry McCarty as "preaching minister."
Miers attended a Sunday gathering of the disaffected group two weekends ago, said Key. He left the church staff this summer after more than 30 years and has been preaching to the as-yet-unnamed second congregation.
Wilson, the Valley View office manager, acknowledged that the split is painful for the church. "We're in transition," she said. She noted that Miers attended Valley View while visiting a few weeks ago. "She's still on the membership rolls here," Wilson said.
But Hecht, who has resigned as a church elder, maintained that Miers was joining him in leaving the church. Key said Miers called him and his wife, Kaycia, on the night before Monday's announcement that she would be the high court nominee. "She simply asked for us to pray for her. My wife asked, 'Could you tell us why?' She said, 'You know me better than that.' We said, 'OK, we'll pray for you.'"
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/176/story_17640_1.html
In March 2004, Barry McCarty was named Valley View's "preaching minister." Under his leadership, the church began to shake things up a bit, in part to attract new younger members. Likely a church in your neighborhood has done the same thing in recent years, trading its organ for a guitar, tossing out some of the 18th- and 19th-century tunes and opting for what is euphemistically known as "praise music."At Valley View, these stylistic changes didn't sit well with all of the congregants. This summer, 100 people left the church, led by Ron Key, who had been a pastor there for 30 years. Among the walkers was Nathan Hecht, Miers' frequent defender. Hecht recently resigned from his position of elder at Valley View. Key's group--which reportedly voted Sunday to be called Cornerstone Christian Church--is meeting at a Doubletree Hotel in north Dallas. Last Sunday, with Hecht at the piano, the Cornerstoners got to sing their old favorites, like the staple "What A Friend We Have in Jesus."
President George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush are lifelong members of the Episcopal Church.
No, GWB was baptized a Methodist.
Folks are still discussing this? I had read two days after her nomination that when she was growing up, her family was Episcopalian, NOT Catholic. She joined the Evangelical church much later, as an adult.
Ruhwaterloo, please re-read very carefully where you quoted what I wrote (without quotation marks and italics).
Again, President George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush are lifelong members of the Episcopal Church.
Welcome to Free Republic. :-)
Nor was she raised conservative.
I don't think a truly Pro-Life person could attend an Episcopalian church, as Miers has done for the last five years.
They are in such apostasy and rebellion that to attend seems to me like Miers would be agreeing with and sanctioning that apostasy.
If she is confirmed, (which...please, Lord God, don't let it happen) I think it would be the end of the cycle of conservative political victories we've seen over the past years...her decisions will rip the heart and motivation out of the party activists to work for the GOP anymore.
Ed
All churches broke away from the Catholic Church
"All churches broke away from the Catholic Church"
Really? You learn some new history everyday.
Tell me which one besides the Catholic Church which was there in A.D. 50? Bet you can't.
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