Taylor Marsh – TaylorMarsh.com – News, Opinion and Weblog on Progressive Politics

Well, Harriet
Miers certainly meets the standard of being “out of the judicial monastery,”
which was supposedly asked of George W. Bush by Democrats.

That her recommendation came from Nevada’s own Harry Reid makes
me smile. (It comes in handy having a pro-life pol in charge.) Our minority leader is a crafty old politician. A man who knows that
there are many rounds to a fight. I have reason to believe there’s more to his
suggestion than meets the eye.

Frankly, that she gave money to Senator Al Gore back in the 1980s
means something to me. In 1984, Rep. Al Gore was decidedly pro-life, for those
of you who don’t remember. This view changed over time, but in the 1980s it
was still developing.

As for Bentson and Bush, it sounds like a Texan for a Texan, and
anything but ideology.

That said, that Ms.
Miers gave $5,000 to the recount fund in 2000 against former vice president
Gore speaks, speaks loudly. As Gore changed from pro-life to pro-choice,
did Miers change her views on Gore? Or maybe it was just a Texas thang.

Here’s a
little more on Ms. Miers.

But no one knows what this nomination will mean in the judicial
trenches.

The Propagandists are “underwhelmed.”

“What Julie Myers is to homeland security, Harriet Miers
is to the Supreme Court.” – Michelle
Malkin

The
Miers nomination, though, is an unforced error. … But there is no reason
at all to believe either that she is a legal conservative or–and more importantly–that
she has the spine and steel necessary to resist the pressures that constantly
bend the American legal system toward the left. This is a chance that may
never occur again: a decisive vacancy on the court, a conservative president,
a 55-seat Republican majority, a large bench of brilliant and superbly credentialed
conservative jurists … and what has been done with the opportunity? David
Frum

“A disappointment,” reads the headline at PowerLine.

I am done with President Bush: Harriet Miers? Are you freakin’
kidding me?! Can someone–anyone–make the case for Justice Miers on the merits?
Seriously, this is the best the president could do? … Update: O.k., I’ve
received several calls and emails from conservative buddies telling me to
chill out and reserve judgment on Miers. I suppose I should do that, but I
am really furious about the president’s unwillingness to nominate an outspoken
legal conservative. This nomination is not just about one person. This country
desperately needs to have a national debate about the proper method of interpreting
the Constitution. And what does the president do? He balks at taking on the
penumbra lovers on the merits. Disgusting. Southern
Appeal

You can’t blame The Propagandists
for being pissed, because there are no two ways about it, Bush just blinked.

Above all else, this nominee shows George W. Bush knows just how
much trouble he is in politically. The confident swagger is gone and so are
his in your face decisions. He just doesn’t seem to have the political spine
anymore and he just lost more support by nominating Miers. Because he had a
change to offer up two raging right-wingers and he didn’t. It’s the chance of
a political lifetime. Roberts is a win for Bush. Miers makes it a muddle.

We’ve got Senator Specter saying on C-SPAN that he’ll move forward
judiciously, but would not promise Senator Frist he’d deliver on Bush’s Thanksgiving
confirmation promise. Frist doesn’t exactly have the clout to demand anything
anymore.

Right now, knowing next to nothing, without prior judicial experience,
being only a lawyer, she just might be in love with the rule of law. We can
hope.

However, that she’s a friend of George W. Bush makes me believe
that in the short term she won’t disappoint her boss. But I believe all bets
are off once President Bush is gone, which is coming up soon. I also think her
lack of ideology will lead her to compromise and consensus, which is going to
piss off the conservatives and be the best we can hope for.

What she won’t be is a Sandra Day O’Connor, but that’s not all
bad, in my humble opinion. Justice O’Connor will have to live with Bush v. Gore
the rest of her life. But given the money trail it’s likely Miers would have
voted the same way.

The big question is what Bush will let us learn about her through
her White House papers.

Sure, she’s a professional pioneer in the law, in Texas, but she’s
still the boss’ buddy.

It’s cronyism all over again, which at this point in time, is
a very easy case to make, push, and will repel many people. The question being
asked: what are her qualifications to sit on the Supreme Court? Roberts flew
over that bar with plenty of room to spare. Miers simply cannot.

So, what about Senator Reid’s suggestion? Harry Reid is as smart
as they come. In Nevada, he wields humongous power built over years and years.
This is a tough state to be so powerful. Harry took on the mob and won. Which
leads me to ask, with Harry Reid suggesting Harriet Myers to President Bush, did this crafty old Democrat maybe have something else in mind? Did the Honorable
Senator from Nevada actually set Bush up?

No tags for this post.