Krauthammer: Retreat (on Miers' nomination to SCOTUS)

Townhall.com ^ | 10-7-05 | Charles Krauthammer

[cgk]

WASHINGTON -- When in 1962 Edward Moore Kennedy ran for his brother's seat in the Senate, his opponent famously said that if Kennedy's name had been Edward Moore, his candidacy would have been a joke. If Harriet Miers were not a crony of the president of the United States, her nomination to the Supreme Court would be a joke, as it would have occurred to no one else to nominate her.

[ZULU]

Apparently, a lot of Bushbots believe it.

Ask them about our southern "border" (its still technically a border, isn't it?)

[aft_lizard]

Jesus you guys have got me so pissed off that you have caused me to stop spell checking.

[Right_in_Virginia]

Feel better now?

[Paladin2b]

Why is it so bad that Miers has no experience on the bench? Neither did Renquist. I think it's a plus.

Please read Krauthammer (and others) more carefully. It isn't just lack of judicial experience. Sure, Rehnquist had never been on the bench. But in 1971 he had proven that he was fully engaged in the debate on the issues of constitutional theory, by academic papers and scholarship, by his work in the Justice Department, and by the nature of his private practice in Arizona...Miers has none of this. Not to say she isn't a nice person, or not smart, or not even not hard-working, but she's spent 99% of her career as a commercial litigator, and you can do that without ever contemplating the deeper issues of the federal constitution. 60 is way too late to start doing that.

[Howlin]

Knock that kind of talk off.

[headsonpikes]

He's never hidden his intentions... he plans on promoting a conservative agenda.

I think the evidence is that he is not all that conservative!

[Right_in_Virginia]

Well said (post 61)

[rogue yam]

did I clai it as a sole argument NO NO NO

You did claim it as the sole argument, and you know it.

[Howlin]

she was on the DEMOCRATS list of acceptable candidates!!!

And the problem with that is what?

Are you aware of who the Democrats wanted George H. W. Bush to appoint to the Supreme Court instead of Clarence Thomas?

[Map Kernow]

Now Krauthammer files a column stating the obvious about Miers.

This isn't getting any better, is it?

Bush has got "pass" after "pass" from the base that "brought him to the dance"---on spending, on CFR, on the borders---for one reason and one reason only: his historic opportunity to put genuine, distinguished, conservative jurists on the Supreme Court. He has willfully flipped the bird at those hopes with the Miers nomination. He deserves no more "passes," and this nomination must be withdrawn, or defeated.

The Emperor has no clothes, people.

[Howlin]

I find myself embarassed at supporting a President who would make such a wimpy selection for a US Supreme Court nominee.

Drama queen.

[Right_in_Virginia]

I, myself, am going to complain about the competence of a conservative pundit who draws his paycheck from the Washington Post.

Add George Will to this list.

[ZULU]

Your rhetoric - I think that's the best word for it - speaks volumes about your intellect.

I'm sure Miers is a nice lady.

Its nice she broke the sex bar in the Texas legal system.

I'm sure she bakes great donuts and ran her legal firm very efficiently.

And I'm very sure she's a good friend of George and Laura's.

But does THAT put her in the same league as Owens, Brown, and the many other names of conservative legal giants which have been presented? How deep is a ten year commitment to Republican values in a 60 ish woman who has flipflopped on religion, abortion and politics?

Is Miers the kind of justice YOU want making decisions regarding the Constitutionality of laws? Do YOU think she is the same caliber as a Thomas or a Scalia?

Is Harry Reid's and Chuckie Schumer's endorsement of her abilities so comforting to YOU?

Perhaps I'm not the one who is retarded.

[Mamzelle]

Krauthammer doesn't like Miers' resume. I don't happen to think there's much on Charlie's to recommend him. Only, I told you WHY. You then try to guilt-trip me because he's crippled. I keep pointed to the big errors he's made in judgement. You call me jealous.

He started his critique with a snarky, yes, snooty and snobbish-- reference to Teddy Kennedy being in power because his name was not Teddy Jones. Then he compares that to Miers getting the job because Bush has known her for over a decade.

Now, that immediately led me to remember that Krauthammer did not work his way into punditry as Rush has done, but his path was greased by friends in high "intellectual" publishing places.

The line is..."Look who's talking." Pundits should serve at our pleasure, and it is our right to snort at their resumes any time we please.

I repeat--he's make some embarrassing errors. McCain. Balkans. An insulting rant at religious conservatives.

He ain't brilliant.

[Sabramerican]

Politicians are sold like any other mass consumable item.

If the sale job is particularly good and the opponent trips, that person gets elected.

It makes the winner a human being with tremendous responsibilities. Sometimes right. Sometimes wrong.

Never divine. At least not in the West since France beheaded Louis XVI and the Colonialist got rid of King George- the other one.

Lately, and becoming all too frequently, Bush has been more wrong then right.

[Howlin]

You are posting as if BushBots aren't conservatives.

You're quite mistaken.

We're just not HYSTERICAL conservatives.

[Edit35]

If in the hearings process something comes out to suggest that she doesn't fit, then you are justified in your (opposition to Miers).

Sure. By then it's too late. What would be your solution if Miers were to prove herself unacceptable to people like yourself who currently support her??

Would you want the GOP controlled US Senate to reject Miers' nomination????

Yeah, that would be great propoganda for the Dems. It would likely guarantee Dem gains in 2006 and 2008 and possibly beyond.

I said it before and I'll say it again. This whole fiasco was (is) so so so unnecessary considering all the good meritorious conservative nominees who GWB could have selected.

What the heck is he afraid of?? I fear he is morphing into his father, and wants to be a "kinder gentler" President, devoid of all confrontation.

Man, we (President Bush) had everything lined up to do the right thing with the Supreme Court, and he balked. He went down on one knee and is running out the clock, apparently willing to accept a tie when he could have won the football game.

[Mamzelle]

Ain't that the truth. I never read such a dreary, pretentious bag of warm efflluvia than George Will's comment on Miers.

[Right_in_Virginia]

Knock it off, both of you. This is DU.

[Don'tMessWithTexas]

Luttig went to Washington and Lee, Owens went to Baylor, Clement went to Tulane.