“It has been conservatives who have been most up in arms about the Miers nomination - and can I single out here the broadcaster Laura Ingraham, who has been first and most forceful with this story? Not for a second has she wavered under the pressures that have been deployed against her and the others who have joined this fight. But the Miers nomination is a disservice, not just to conservatives, but the whole country. All Americans are entitled to know that those judges who exercise the power of judicial review have thought hard and deeply about the immense power entrusted to them. If the courts were just about getting the votes, then the preisdent should have chosen Dennis Hastert for the Supreme Court. But to change American law, it’s not enough to win the vote count. You have to win the argument. And does anybody believe Harriet Miers can win an argument against Stephen Breyer? Yesterday’s White House talking point was that Miers “reflects the president’s judicial philosophy.” OK. But can she articulate it? Defend it? And persuade others of it - not just her colleagues, but the generations to come who will read her decisions and accept them … or scorn them. That’s the way this president should have thought about this choice. And that’s the way the Senators called on to consent to the choice should be thinking about it now”. –David Frum
ok. good luck!
One additional fear that I have of Miers, is that obviously she was chosen due to her close friendship and loyalty to Bush.
Will she be able to set aside that loyalty and decide objectively during one of the multitude of cases that this and all executive branches are a defendant on (e.g. torture, enemy combatants, disclosure of documents etc.) Given her gushing personal notes that were revealed, probably not.
It will be interesting if this comes to a vote, if dems like Shumer, Kennedy et al will vote to affirm her. So far it is the Republicans who have appeared hypocritical, (e.g. ok to use religion to base your opinion on Miers, not Roberts, Brownback and crew wants to get all documents and wants to ask her how she feels about hot-button “morality” issues like abortion, privacy etc. while they defended Roberts avoidance of these topics).
So far dems have been silent. I supect as politicians they will vote to confirm her due to the fear that her replacement will be a Luttig or Wilkinson etc.
At this point I feel however that Miers will step down voluntarily. Bush never admits a mistake, however this is costing him way too much from his base who he will need to do anything else the next 3 years. Right now I am guessing Karl Rove has some operatives digging through her tax returns the past 20 years seeing if she failed to withhold a gardener his social security, or smoked dope in college or something minor like that, he will leak it to Judith Miller or some other pidgeon in the media. It will come out she will fall on the sword. Bush will pick the one the hard-liners want.