Is Harriet Miers A Yellow Dog Democrat?
Ken Hughes
October 03, 2005
Should we worry Ms. Harriet Miers is a converted Democrat? Many prominent Republicans have crossed the bridge to reality over the years. I believe Ms. Miers conversion to conservatism to be real. I can forgive her for every indiscretion except one: giving a political contribution to Al Gore; that’s unacceptable judgment in my opinion.
Ms. Miers wasn’t on the Sunday pundits list of nominees. That shows the brilliance of President Bush. By not allowing her name leaked before his announcement, he was able to ward off much speculation. The question we have now is what will her judicial philosophy be? Will she lean to the right, the left or be another centrist like Justice O’Connor?
To see what I could find I began to surf the internet. What I found was article after article of fluff. It seems – like Judge Roberts – Ms. Miers has impeccable credentials, very nearly saintly. I’m beginning to think this is another end-run by President Bush around the liberals in the Senate as he’s successfully done many times before. I trust the President’s judgment. He’s known Ms. Miers for twenty years; they’ve worked side-by-side through much of his political career, both in Texas and Washington.
What will happen when Justices Roberts and Miers are free of the President’s influence? Who knows? There’s something regal about the Supreme Court. The members are the untouchables of government. Earl Warren, nominated by a conservative president Dwight Eisenhower, became the most liberal Chief Justice to serve in the 20th century. There are no guarantees. Who would have thought Clarence Thomas would be as conservative as he’s become?
Today Liberals are singing Ms. Miers praises; tomorrow the hatchets come out. There’s no way liberals will let Ms. Miers slip by without some scaring of her reputation. Some conservatives may question her commitment to the conservative cause. Others will challenge her commitment to religion. Her lack of judicial experience will be challenged even though it’s not a requirement for appointment to the court. More than anything, her close association with the President will be her greatest hurdle to overcome. Few justices in the history of the court have been subject to a president’s influence. Once they’re approved and sworn in, justices become free spirits with allegiance only to the law as they see it. I believe it’s safe to assume Ms. Miers will follow the same philosophy.
It would be ridiculous to assume New Justices, Roberts and Miers would immediately turn the court on its head so to speak. They’re two of nine. They can only rule on those cases that come before them – cases that must have been tried in previous courts and appealed to higher courts. It’s a long involved process. It could take more than a year for the court to feel the influence of Judge Roberts and Judge Miers.
A flood of case’s will be submitted to the court requesting previous rulings be overturned that many feel trample the constitution. I believe the court will be slow to act. Many of the previous courts rulings have become instilled in our daily lives and they’d be difficult to rescind. I pray we can return to the Constitution the founding fathers worked so hard for so long, assuring every citizen due process. It’s my belief President Bush isn’t as interested in revisiting old issue as he is assuring new rulings will come from constitutional law and not judicial activism.
Is it possible the polls told the Liberal opponents of the President they went a word to far in their opposition to Judge Roberts? This will be an interesting conformation hearing. Most of the leading Democrats have already put their stamp of approval on Ms. Miers. How will those Senators, delegated to put Ms. Miers in the worst possible light, do so and maintain any decorum. How will they manage to maintain their angry liberal persona and not seem bullish at the same time? Perhaps Howard Dean has the answer.
Those interested in the country’s future will watch with interest and concern in the coming weeks. Mr. Miers will undergo a severe investigation into her past or lack of one. No stone will be unturned. That’s a good thing, we need to know as much as possible about who will determine our welfare for the next quarter century.
e-mail ken-hughes@comcast.net
Ms. Miers wasn’t on the Sunday pundits list of nominees. That shows the brilliance of President Bush. By not allowing her name leaked before his announcement, he was able to ward off much speculation. The question we have now is what will her judicial philosophy be? Will she lean to the right, the left or be another centrist like Justice O’Connor?
To see what I could find I began to surf the internet. What I found was article after article of fluff. It seems – like Judge Roberts – Ms. Miers has impeccable credentials, very nearly saintly. I’m beginning to think this is another end-run by President Bush around the liberals in the Senate as he’s successfully done many times before. I trust the President’s judgment. He’s known Ms. Miers for twenty years; they’ve worked side-by-side through much of his political career, both in Texas and Washington.
What will happen when Justices Roberts and Miers are free of the President’s influence? Who knows? There’s something regal about the Supreme Court. The members are the untouchables of government. Earl Warren, nominated by a conservative president Dwight Eisenhower, became the most liberal Chief Justice to serve in the 20th century. There are no guarantees. Who would have thought Clarence Thomas would be as conservative as he’s become?
Today Liberals are singing Ms. Miers praises; tomorrow the hatchets come out. There’s no way liberals will let Ms. Miers slip by without some scaring of her reputation. Some conservatives may question her commitment to the conservative cause. Others will challenge her commitment to religion. Her lack of judicial experience will be challenged even though it’s not a requirement for appointment to the court. More than anything, her close association with the President will be her greatest hurdle to overcome. Few justices in the history of the court have been subject to a president’s influence. Once they’re approved and sworn in, justices become free spirits with allegiance only to the law as they see it. I believe it’s safe to assume Ms. Miers will follow the same philosophy.
It would be ridiculous to assume New Justices, Roberts and Miers would immediately turn the court on its head so to speak. They’re two of nine. They can only rule on those cases that come before them – cases that must have been tried in previous courts and appealed to higher courts. It’s a long involved process. It could take more than a year for the court to feel the influence of Judge Roberts and Judge Miers.
A flood of case’s will be submitted to the court requesting previous rulings be overturned that many feel trample the constitution. I believe the court will be slow to act. Many of the previous courts rulings have become instilled in our daily lives and they’d be difficult to rescind. I pray we can return to the Constitution the founding fathers worked so hard for so long, assuring every citizen due process. It’s my belief President Bush isn’t as interested in revisiting old issue as he is assuring new rulings will come from constitutional law and not judicial activism.
Is it possible the polls told the Liberal opponents of the President they went a word to far in their opposition to Judge Roberts? This will be an interesting conformation hearing. Most of the leading Democrats have already put their stamp of approval on Ms. Miers. How will those Senators, delegated to put Ms. Miers in the worst possible light, do so and maintain any decorum. How will they manage to maintain their angry liberal persona and not seem bullish at the same time? Perhaps Howard Dean has the answer.
Those interested in the country’s future will watch with interest and concern in the coming weeks. Mr. Miers will undergo a severe investigation into her past or lack of one. No stone will be unturned. That’s a good thing, we need to know as much as possible about who will determine our welfare for the next quarter century.
e-mail ken-hughes@comcast.net
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