Miers Redux
I've had some time to let this soak in and think I should take another crack at it. My comments in my previous post about Miers should tell you where I stand. I can't make an honest, legal judgment about her. There is just nothing for me to read. She's a blank slate in that regard. Screw law, let's talk politics.
It is quite possible that President Bush is trying to get a very conservative, evangelical Christian onto the Court. What that means for the face of the Court, we can't know. We don't know her positions on social issues. We don't know if she will interject her religious views (whatever they are exactly) into her jurisprudence.
Bush says she will be a strict constructionist. I'll believe it when I see it. If I see it, I'll be overjoyed. But that's a bold claim, considering we only have two confirmed ones on the Court. If she is a female Scalia, this move will be the ultimate political coup for the president. He will have picked a nominee that the Democrats endorsed, then screwed them over big time with said nominee. If she goes Souter, it will be the biggest blunder since, well, Souter.
I've also been thinking about the evangelical angle more and more. The Democrats seemed happy with her nomination at first. But if more of her religious views come out, people like Schumer are going to be on her during the hearings like stink on a monkey. What if her views on the major social issues become known? Perhaps someone who knows her well will run to the press with "damning" information. She might get filibustered. Hell, she might even get voted down. There are enough pansy Republicans in the Senate for that to happen. If that happens, the president has to pick someone else. There's the best part. He can pick any of the very qualified appeals court judges and get them confirmed. Compared to the president's lawyer, the possible evangelical with the non-Schumer mainstream views, they would be seen as excellent picks. "Hey, at least it's not the religious, Bush-insider, Texan woman."
Maybe the president does win either way here. He's pissed off a good chunk of the base with Miers, but look at these possibilities. Miers is confirmed, she turns out to be Scalia in a dress (bad mental image), the base explodes with Bush-love. Miers is blocked, Bush appoints one of the solid conservative judges, the base explodes in Bush-love, albeit belated and with a little leftover frustration.
As long as she isn't a Souter, things might be fine (I'm still pissed about the pick and what it stands for, but I'll get over it if the right decisions start coming down). I just can't say. Unless there is a major bombshell, I doubt I'll even discuss her until the hearings start.
It is quite possible that President Bush is trying to get a very conservative, evangelical Christian onto the Court. What that means for the face of the Court, we can't know. We don't know her positions on social issues. We don't know if she will interject her religious views (whatever they are exactly) into her jurisprudence.
Bush says she will be a strict constructionist. I'll believe it when I see it. If I see it, I'll be overjoyed. But that's a bold claim, considering we only have two confirmed ones on the Court. If she is a female Scalia, this move will be the ultimate political coup for the president. He will have picked a nominee that the Democrats endorsed, then screwed them over big time with said nominee. If she goes Souter, it will be the biggest blunder since, well, Souter.
I've also been thinking about the evangelical angle more and more. The Democrats seemed happy with her nomination at first. But if more of her religious views come out, people like Schumer are going to be on her during the hearings like stink on a monkey. What if her views on the major social issues become known? Perhaps someone who knows her well will run to the press with "damning" information. She might get filibustered. Hell, she might even get voted down. There are enough pansy Republicans in the Senate for that to happen. If that happens, the president has to pick someone else. There's the best part. He can pick any of the very qualified appeals court judges and get them confirmed. Compared to the president's lawyer, the possible evangelical with the non-Schumer mainstream views, they would be seen as excellent picks. "Hey, at least it's not the religious, Bush-insider, Texan woman."
Maybe the president does win either way here. He's pissed off a good chunk of the base with Miers, but look at these possibilities. Miers is confirmed, she turns out to be Scalia in a dress (bad mental image), the base explodes with Bush-love. Miers is blocked, Bush appoints one of the solid conservative judges, the base explodes in Bush-love, albeit belated and with a little leftover frustration.
As long as she isn't a Souter, things might be fine (I'm still pissed about the pick and what it stands for, but I'll get over it if the right decisions start coming down). I just can't say. Unless there is a major bombshell, I doubt I'll even discuss her until the hearings start.
