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Posted on 10/25/2005 8:14:26 PM PDT by Jim Robinson
WASHINGTON, Oct. 25 - The drumbeat of doubt from Republican senators over the Supreme Court nomination of Harriet E. Miers grew louder Tuesday as several lawmakers, including a pivotal conservative on the Judiciary Committee, joined those expressing concerns about her selection.
Emerging from a weekly luncheon of Republican senators in which they discussed the nomination, several lawmakers suggested that as Ms. Miers continued her visits on Capitol Hill, she was not winning over Republican lawmakers.
"I am uneasy about where we are," said Senator Jeff Sessions, an Alabama Republican on the Judiciary Committee who had so far expressed only support for the president's choice. "Some conservative people are concerned. That is pretty obvious."
Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota, called Republican sentiment toward Ms. Miers's nomination "a question mark."
"There is an awful lot of Republican senators who are saying we are going to wait and see," he said.
Senator Norm Coleman, a Minnesota Republican in the political middle of his party, said he needed "to get a better feel for her intellectual capacity and judicial philosophy, core competence issues."
"I certainly go into this with concerns," Mr. Coleman said.
Coming less than two weeks before confirmation hearings, the public questioning by Republican senators may be an ominous sign. Of the 10 Republicans on the 18-member Judiciary Committee, Mr. Sessions joins two others who have publicly raised concerns: Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas has questioned her legal views on abortion rights, and the committee chairman, Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, has said Ms. Miers could benefit from a "crash course in constitutional law."
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Being pro-Miers has to be very bad for a GOP Senator's re-election chances. Hell, some of them might not make it past the primaries.
Words of wisdom.
"Get me out of here"-ping
I only hope that elevator was going up.
Yes, and it sounds a lot more snappy than "who will rid me of this troublesome nominee."
I'll pick this Friday as the date by which the Miers name will be pulled, at her request, of course (nudge, nudge).
GACK....when Sessions is acting like that...it can't be good. Sessions seems about as much of a straight-shooter as they get in the Senate....and yet, he seems to give President Bush the benefit of the doubt, usually.
Yikes.
Thune was also against the Roberts nomination.
Sessions is a conservative. Principled. Loyal Republican and loyal to this President. A rarity to find the combination in one man in the U.S. Senate. A person that should have been on the Court himself. Sessions' statements mean far more to me than those from Brownback. To say this doesn't bode well for Ms. Miers.
Senator Norm Coleman, a Minnesota Republican in the political middle of his party, said he needed "to get a better feel for her intellectual capacity and judicial philosophy, core competence issues."
Ouch. Preferably this should be the last thing we'd need to know at this point.
"To support the withdrawal would be a rebuke of the president, not her, because she has not said anything yet, so that is a slam on the president, not Harriet Miers, so I don't think any Republican wants to do that," Senator Graham observed.
Right. And signing onto that Judas Pact was an endorsement of the President. This sounds like the strongarm reported the W.H. was engaged in, that the President needed their support. Dissent would be viewed as betrayal.
In Lindsey's case, he has a lot of capitol riding on Mier's. She's a direct consequence of HIS earlier betrayal. he's trying to hold onto his "moderate" power he scored in the coup earlier.
In an interview Tuesday, Mr. Hatch, a former chairman of the committee, argued that Republicans had previously opposed the arguments for disclosure that Mr. Specter was making. "I am just surprised that there are some on our side using it, after we have established that principle," Mr. Hatch said.
We also established we would nominate the best nominee available, with a Judicial philosophy and extensive knowledge of the Constitution. We also established we wouldn't use religion.
Asked if the debate had become "one-sided" with too few defending Ms. Miers , Mr. Sessions struggled for words, then pushed a button for a nearby elevator in the Capitol building and told an aide, "Get me out of here."
Can't add to this.
President Bush gave a speech to the RNC Fundraiser tonight...and in it he reinterated his support for Miers, and even talked quite a bit about her...
I was curious about how much applause he would get after that part of his speech...and it was pretty good.
A little bit later, he was speaking about his "faith-based" initiatives...and how much he believes in them...and he got very tepid applause..much less than for the Miers part.
This is not to argue one way or another about her merits...just reporting what happened tonight.
The trouble with the "faith based initiatives" is that they've been dragged out for five years now, with very little to show for it.
Plus there is some realistic fear that a flow of government money to religious groups could easily be used to corrupt them, as it has succeeded in corrupted most other programs that get goverment funding.
That's your sound bite. LOL
If the President exhibited a willingness to listen instead of pig headed stubborness he would not be in this fix.
Over on Townhall I saw an article by Cal Thomas arguing that Bush should seize the initiative in terms of support for the war with a speech. We are past that. It is too late to rally a nation that is increasingly distrustful of Bush's judgement. And this nomination and his attempt to strongarm his support did not help.
You're dellusional.
0 GOP incumbents are in danger of losing primaries. Well, unless you consider Chafee to be a Republican. Which I really don't. And I don't even mind Arlen Specter!
Too funny!
...or beam me up, Scotty.
It must really stink not to be able to say what you want to say.
Harriet Miers is continuing to make rather a poor impression. It is doubtful the confirmation hearing is going to change that. She is apparently in over her head.
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