The American Spectator

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In Dogged Pursuit

10.12.05 @ 12:01AM

WHERE'S HER PEDIGREE?
Re: Andrew Cline's The Conservative Problem With Harriet Miers:

Mr. Cline makes a very good point on a Supreme Court selection. I might liken the choice of a justice to judging AKC dog breeds. One can go down to the pound or one can go to a certified breeder and get a dog. Now either will end up as a likeable, dependable pet or a candidate. But when it comes to making it to the blue ribbon or the SCOTUS it is almost a certainty that one have papers.

And that is the problem, Miers, lacking any paper trail cannot either run afoul of the confirmation nor can she be certified as a legal conservative. Now it is not required to have a legal background to the SCOTUS but it helps. But one must have a critical eye and a burning memory to at least say, "Where does it say that in the Articles?" Living in Texas, I know first hand the "get along come along" political style down here. Such attitudes are critically the last thing you want in a Supreme Court justice.

President Bush, you brought home a mongrel. We the base paid for an AKC registered Rotweiler, so deliver the same.
-- John McGinnis
Arlington, Texas

After reading Mr. Cline's analysis of the reasons for the conservative criticisms of the appointment of Harriet Miers, I have to respectfully disagree with him. He brings up many seemingly valid points of concern that conservatives may have with Ms. Miers, but I think that the reason for the strenuous opposition to this appointment is much simpler : disappointment.

For thirty years, conservatives have watched the court slip ever more into the morass of liberal activism. They have lost the battles over abortion, the institutional discrimination known as affirmative action, socialist practices of welfare, the rise of deviant behavior as protected speech and the removal of historical Christianity as protected speech and practice under the First Amendment. All these battles have been lost, not through the actions of the peoples' elected representatives, but through the actions of five or six "jurists."

The second term of GW Bush presented the staunch conservative enclave a remarkable opportunity. The opportunity to replace not one member of the Supreme Court of the United States, but two. And there was a conservative Republican President to do it. They expected a fight with liberals over the appointments, a bloody, bare-knuckled brawl. And they trained hard for it. They trained to win. The "nuclear option" was dusted off and prepared. The fight failed to materialize. John Roberts was confirmed with very little whining from the liberals and no bloodshed at all. But, there was another appointment in the works. This time it was hoped that it would be a recognized jurist with staunchly conservative views and, just possibly, an activist bent. There were a dozen names bandied about, but none materialized. Instead, they got Harriet Miers.

Harriet Miers, Presidential crony? Perhaps. But when has that made any difference in a SCOTUS nomination. Not a jurist? There have been other non-jurists appointed and confirmed. No paper trail to indicate the type of Justice she will be? The conservatives praised the same aspect of John Roberts. Her gender? Conservative Senators overwhelmingly voted to confirm Justice Ginsburg, knowing her philosophical leanings. What is different about this nominee?

Her nomination virtually guarantees there will be no confirmation battle with liberals. No gunfight at the OK Corral. No Armageddon. Liberal thought and philosophy will not be soundly trounced and its practitioners publicly shown up. There will be no fight.

Now Ms. Miers may turn out to be everything that her conservative critics say. She may be, at best, another Justice O'Connor and at worst a Justice Souter. Or she may be another Justice Scalia or Thomas. There is no way to develop any inkling until the hearings and maybe not even then. It is a wait and see situation.

There is very little objection to Ms. Miers on philosophical grounds. It is a fear that when the conservatives show up for the big game, it will have been cancelled.
-- Michael Tobias
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Would you care to name the 50 senators whom you believe would vote for the conservative jurists that you have named in your article? I concur in the advisability of your wish list, but I am unable to comfortably ascertain the 50 Senate affirmative votes that will be required to confirm him or her.

I think that Bush has outfoxed everyone by naming a conservative appointee who will not elicit the public outcry that one of your suggested nominees would unleash and who will serve us well.

In naming someone with no public record, he has given the Democrats a fig leaf to hide behind with their God-forsaken constituencies.

She is a devout Christian, she is unabashedly pro-life and she carries (or carried) a 45.

Letter to the Editor

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