From my vantage point, Bush made an excellent pick!
Posted on 10/03/2005 4:06:25 AM PDT by johnmecainrino
Harriet Miers
" I'm sorry, but a law firm can't make anybody, not even a mail room clerk, donate money to any particularly political candidate."
Yes, a load of it. MADE her? She's a lawyer. Made her or what, fire her? As a lawyer, she could have OWNED the law firm by showing that they made her donate in order to keep her job.
Well, the other day I made my prediction that he'd go for Consuelo Callahan of California to get both a woman and a Hispanic, and that I'd come back here and eat crow if he didn't, so to wrap that up I'll have my bird panfried with onion rings on the side.
Look, she may turn out to be fine. And there's a side of me that says that if I'm going to support this president, I ought to support his judgment in things like this.
But I'm sorry, I think he and we could have done better. You cannot tell me that of all the possible candidates, male or female, majority or minority, Harriet Miers is the most qualified human being out there to sit on the Supreme Court.
This is a safe, "in the box," guaranteed confirmable pick, that also shows the insularness and clannishness and premium placed on personal loyalty that is a trademark of the Bush family (not that there's a problem with that in small doses, but I think it's unhealthy when taken to the extreme), and makes me think that maybe the president doesn't feel he's got the capital remaining to do something that would require "going to the mattresses," to use a "Godfather" line I tossed out the other day, with the Dems and confronting them and possibly triggering the constitutional option.
And if that's the case ... look, I'm not going to bug out of the 2006 or 2008 elections as a statement of protest or principle because there is simply too much at stake in this country right now, but it might be time to, not completely because that's impossible, but metaphorically, close the book on this administration because if he doesn't have the "oomph" left to do something like appoint a Janice Rogers Brown to the USSC, who IMHO is a jillion times more qualified than Harriet Miers, then what's the point?
What is the justification for passing over Edith Jones, Luttig, Alito, Williams, Sykes, Brown, etc?
I put to you that the justification for passing them over doesn't come close to rising to the justification of nominating Miers instead. If the GOP isn't willing to die on a hill like the shape of the future of the Supreme Court, then what hill are they willing to die on?
That's what I thought you were driving at.
And your manners are impeccable? I simply don't understand why you are so defensive about it. If I'm wrong, what does that matter to you?...unless you have some personal stake, some nerve that has been touched. My experience is that for the most part good businessmen are born, not made. To the extent that they are made, they are made by actual experience, not by school.
The President has not energized his base ... he has split and demoralized it.
All the same, I don't think Miers deserves to be demonized. There is actually some pretty encouraging stuff about her here.
Hecht says about Miers' judicial philosophy: "She's an orginalist -- that's the way she takes the Bible," and that's her approach to the Constitution as well -- "Originalist -- it means what it says." He notes that her legal practice involved writing contracts rather than tort law, so she was always looking at the plain meaning of the words: "Originalist." He also says she's not a social butterfly who will be swayed by Washington dinner table conversation: "She goes to the dinners she's supposed to go to. She's not on the social circuit."
Look at her commitment in taking care of her [now 93-year-old mother] all these years. Look at her tax returns. She tithes, gave a full tithe to the church. Helps out in missions, Bible translation. These are the kinds of values she shows." Hecht and Miers "went to two or three prolife dinners in the late 80s or early 90s."
I haven't even been here. I was outside watering my plants. And, I don't play games but I'm going to check out Harriet's campaign donations to see who else she's donated to.
Different Exodous group. The one she was with seeks to reunite criminals when they get out with family members.
Encouraging background info, Valley View Christian Church is an awesome church.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1495754/posts
This begins a series of seven posts on Harriet Miers, based on interviews with those who know her. Some background for the first five: I spoke yesterday with Nathan Hecht, the Texas Supreme Court justice who is a prolife hero for strongly supporting parental notification laws five years ago when a SCOTEX majority was scuttling them. Hecht, 55 and never married, and Harriet Miers, 60 and never married, have known each other for 30 years and are -- to quote Hecht -- "very close friends. We dated some. The relationship has been close: Platonic... We go to dinner, I go to Washington for special things."
Harriet Miers -- pro, part 2
Miers has been a member of Valley View Christian Church in Dallas for 25 years, where Hecht has been an elder. He calls it a "conservative evangelical church... in the vernacular, fundamentalist, but the media have used that word to tar us." He says she was on the missions committee for ten years, taught children in Sunday School, made coffee, brought donuts: "Nothing she's asked to do in church is beneath her." On abortion, choosing his words carefully for an on-the-record statement, he says "her personal views are consistent with that of evangelical Christians... You can tell a lot about her from her decade of service in a conservative church."
Harriet Miers -- pro, part 3
Hecht says about Miers' judicial philosophy: "She's an orginalist -- that's the way she takes the Bible," and that's her approach to the Constitution as well -- "Originalist -- it means what it says." He notes that her legal practice involved writing contracts rather than tort law, so she was always looking at the plain meaning of the words: "Originalist." He also says she's not a social butterfly who will be swayed by Washington dinner table conversation: "She goes to the dinners she's supposed to go to. She's not on the social circuit."
Harriet Miers -- pro, part 4
Hecht says Miers never got married because she "probably worked too hard. She's close to her family, has a sister and three brothers, goes to her nephews' high school football games, bought a car for one of them." She "had a Catholic upbringing, had not been close to the church, it was off again, on again, then she came to a point in her life when she wanted to change that…. She made an abrupt change in 79 or 80. She was very hard-working and successful, she wanted new meaning, substance in her life.” Her father died when she was a freshman in college. "Look at her commitment in taking care of her [now 93-year-old mother] all these years. Look at her tax returns. She tithes, gave a full tithe to the church. Helps out in missions, Bible translation. These are the kinds of values she shows." Hecht and Miers "went to two or three prolife dinners in the late 80s or early 90s."
Harriet Miers -- pro, part 5
Questions are being raised about Harriet Miers' politics because published records show her making contributions of $1,000 to Lloyd Bentsen in 1987, Al Gore in 1988, and the Democratic National Committee that same year. Hecht says, "She was a Democrat years and years ago, in the early 80s." As far as the late 80s contributions, "If she did it, it was because the [law] firm made her do it." She is loyal to President Bush and he to her: "The president demands a lot. The people he's loyal to are productive." Miers and Laura Bush are "very close. Harriet just loves Laura, has the deepest respect for her. Laura has migrated in her faith, it’s stronger than when she got to Washington.”
Harriet Myers -- anti
Hecht's evaluation needs to be taken seriously, but here's one negative analysis from a lawyer who is a conservative Christian and worked with Harriet Miers in Texas (I agreed to go off-the-record with this lawyer, a credible person whose practice could be seriously hurt by this criticism of Miers): "Harriet could have become a conservative in Washington, but unless she did, she doesn’t have any particular judicial philosophy… I never heard her take a position on anything… We’ll have another Sandra Day O’Connor… Harriet worships the president and has called him the smartest man she’s known. She’s a pretty good lawyer…. This president can be bamboozled by anyone he feels close to. If a person fawns on him enough, is loyal, works 25 hours a day and says you’re the smartest man I ever met, all of a sudden you’re right for the Supreme Court."
Harriet Miers -- her pastor's view
I talked yesterday with Miers' pastor, Ron Key, who for 33 years (until a few weeks ago) was pastor of Valley View Christian Church in Dallas. “She started coming to church in 1980. She helped out with kids, made coffee, furnished donuts, served on missions committee. She worked out her faith in practical, behind-the-scenes ways. She doesn't draw attention to herself, she's humble, self-effacing." Key has still seen her in recent years because "her mother is 93. Harriet tries to get home as much as she can." When Key and Miers met in 1980, "I don’t know how strong her faith was at that time. She came to a place where she totally committed her life to Jesus. She had gone to church before, but when she came to our church it became more serious to her.... Our church is strong for life, but Harriet and I have not had any conversations on that…. We believe in the biblical approach to marriage."
That is true.
She opposed the original 1992 resolution.
That is true as well. But my point, which is obvious, is that one needs to know WHY she opposed the orginal 1992 resoulution. The quote you provide sheds no light on that question. We need more information.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1495585/posts?page=1743#1743 <- more, but still not dispositive, and for the same reason. She is advocating against taking a position, but we don't know the basis for her advocacy.
It might be a crappy example, but I advocated for our neighborhood to get public water as a remedy to a gasoline spill. Personally, I was against that remedy - but I did arrange for the neighborhood to speak with one, unified voice, based on the wishes of the majority. Without that unified front, the majority would not have obtained its preferred remedy. A superficial review of my work would lead a person to believe I was for the public water remedy - but in fact I was against it.
I was wondering the same thing. Now, I feel like dropping out as I feel our cause is lost. I by no means am a defeatist
Which one is it?
What are you talking about. The Left was calling Roberts gay despite the fact that he's married with two kids. He wouldn't be on the court if he were single and childless. Face reality, it's hard to be a pro-family, pro-life SC justice whose going to rollback courtimposed social liberalism if you never married or had kids.
Well, they can get all excited about 100 new members because it causes a statistically significant change in their percentage of the electorate.
What are you talking about. The Left was calling Roberts gay despite the fact that he's married with two kids. He wouldn't be on the court if he were single and childless. Face reality, it's hard to be a pro-family, pro-life SC justice whose going to rollback courtimposed social liberalism if you never married or had kids.
What are you talking about. The Left was calling Roberts gay despite the fact that he's married with two kids. He wouldn't be on the court if he were single and childless. Face reality, it's hard to be a pro-family, pro-life SC justice whose going to rollback courtimposed social liberalism if you never married or had kids.
This is probably completely off-base and crazy, but what if Bush thinks another retirement is imminent(Ginsberg) before his term ends, and he is appeasing the Dems for now in order to make a clearer path for a future conservative pick???
It could happen.
My first thought when I heard of this pick was that she must be a throw away.
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