Posted on 10/06/2005 11:59:06 PM PDT by Mighty_Quinn
In an initial chat with Miers, according to several people with knowledge of the exchange, Leahy asked her to name her favorite Supreme Court justices. Miers responded with "Warren" -- which led Leahy to ask her whether she meant former Chief Justice Earl Warren, a liberal icon, or former Chief Justice Warren Burger, a conservative who voted for Roe v. Wade . Miers said she meant Warren Burger, the sources said.
A Republican member of the committee, Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.), said after meeting with Miers: "I think the hearings matter in her case probably more than others."
Graham said Miers's challenge will be to "create a comfort level" with conservatives that she shares their strict-constructionist approach to interpreting the Constitution, while convincing the public that she is not biased by her evangelical Christian faith and is qualified for the lifetime post, despite her lack of judicial experience.
Graham said he was "very impressed" by Miers and said the two had discussed her work history and how she had dealt with various types of conflict throughout her career. He described her as a "consensus builder" and a "task-oriented" person.
Brownback said his biggest concern is not knowing where she stands on "key issues of the day," such as abortion, same-sex marriage and property rights. He said that during the meeting, he brought up the Roe v. Wade decision on abortion in the context of another case, and said Miers "did not and would not" articulate a position -- presumably, the senator said, because Roe remains a "live issue" before the court.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
By the way....maybe she's just trying to shore up her bona fide "non-elitist" legal credentials....it's only those elitist Ivy Leaguers who can do such trivial things as "name the Justices"...geez, how petty can you get?
Who's to say she isn't? We deserve better than this. We deserve to know what our bride looks like before we say, "I do."
BTW, assuming any of those anonymous sources are accurate, what else did Warren Burger vote for. Abortion, for many conservatives, is rather low on the totem pole of importance in comparison to, for example, 2nd Amendment rights.
If this lady is a strong gun owners proponent, I can't see why that would not trump anything else.
Like being asked why you want to be president. Sometimes the obvious questions tangle folks up.
As far as Earl Warren vs Warren Burger, maybe it was neither. Maybe nothing in this article happened at all and the left is trying to fracture the right.
I'm still undecided on Miers, but she needs to have a good hearing.
Bingo. And an awful lot of people are taking the bait.
The whole point of a confirmation hearing--a hearing that has already begun with these one-on-one meetings with senators--is the ability to NOT answer the question posed, but to answer the question that the nominee wants to talk about. The whole drama of the situation lies in how well the nominee is able to answer the questions that he/she wants to answer, without annoying the questioner. So far Miers has a lot to learn about this.
If someone asked me who my favorite justice was I don't think that I would reply by citing their first name. "Clarence." "Nino." "Whizzer." "Oliver." Don't think so. This nomination is deplorable.
Hey, let's all unite around a nominee whose favorite justice is Warren....uh....Burger! That makes me want to get out ther and fight for more GOP senators in 06! </sarcasm>
Five: It was the only Supreme Court justice she could remember the name of.
They stated several sources said the same thing, and I don't see the motivation of Leahy staff to lie about that. It is a pretty straight-forward question and a straight forward answer. If it is not true, Miers should correct the record.
Abortion is the touchstone test for social conservatives. It appears that it might not be a high priority issue for you.
Read that paragraph again. The sources can only be members of Leahy's staff, Leahy, or people they have spoken to.
Not exactly a trustworthy bunch.
Now, as to motive, how about this one: the conservatives have gone into an irrational tailspin about this nominee, but she is getting support from the religious right (Dobson, Falwell).
What better way to get the nomination scuttled while keeping one's hands clean than to leak information that she might not be pro-life, causing the evangelicals to withdraw?
Send me your e-mail address and bank account number. I have a large amount of money I need to remove from Nigeria and I will give you a cut.
Abortion the litmus test du jour? I think not. If a public figure was pro Life, loudly and intensely approved of the Brady Bill as a good start enroute to a total prohibition on the private ownership of any firearms, strongly supported Affirmative Action and loudly advocated extending the concept to Gays, supported not only Gay marriage but was in a homosexual marriage him or herself, and advocated a progressive marginal tax rate structure that peaked at 90% for income > $150,000 per year . . . . do you think FR will call that person conservative?
If this lady is a strong gun owner proponent, it would trump all else for a great many on FR.
The only reason these sources are 'unnamed' is that nobody knows who they are, so it would be meaningless to name them. It sounds as if at least 3 people verified this account. Sure they are Leahy's staff, but why would they lie? This information is probably beneficial to Miers nomination if they are trying to sell her to the left as a moderate. In absence of a denial, I have to believe it. Unfortunately, with this nominee, this kind of info the best info we have.
You are a little late. I have gotten 5 e-mails in the last few days from my good buddy in Nigeria, and I can't wait to get my cut.
I would've also preferred if Bush nominated JRB or Luttig.
But Harriet Miers is not a death knell; don't start despairing.
Good point, it's possible she's totally clueless.
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