News The Impact of Alito's Nomination on Individual Rights and Government Power

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President Bush nominated Harriet Miers, his White House counsel, to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court. Miers, who has no prior judicial experience, has a background as a lawyer and has held various significant roles, including Deputy Chief of Staff. The nomination has sparked mixed reactions, with concerns about cronyism and her lack of a clear ideological stance on critical issues like abortion and affirmative action. Some view her close ties to Bush as problematic, while others note that her nomination received some support from Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid. The discussion highlights fears that Miers may not represent the conservative values expected by some factions within the Republican Party, particularly regarding her potential stance on pro-choice issues. Critics express skepticism about her qualifications, given her limited courtroom experience and the perception that her nomination is more about loyalty than merit. Overall, Miers' nomination raises significant questions about her judicial philosophy and the implications for the Supreme Court's future direction.
  • #31
Gokul43201 said:
So, is there any truth to the report that Miers claimed that Bush was "the most intelligent man" she ever met ?
Probably. She's 60 and never married - there must be a reason. :smile:

The important thing here is whether Miers's and Robert's are judicial legislators or http://slate.msn.com/id/2127371/nav/tap2#Spellbound :smile:
 
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  • #32
[PLAIN said:
http://www.scrappleface.com/MT/archives/002349.html]In[/PLAIN] a news conference to nominate White House Counsel Harriet Miers, 60, as an associate justice on the high court, Mr. Bush admitted, "I don't get out much, and I don't personally know very many total strangers. So, I had to settle for someone whose views, personality, intellectual abilities and work habits were familiar to me. I hope the American people will eventually find it in their hearts to forgive me."

Technically none of us know very many total stranger either until we get to know them... :rolleyes:. What I don't understand is why he didn't choose someone with experience. I'm quite sure that there is a good chance that he could find at the very least a competent judge if he visits any local, state, or DCA courthouse. There are most likely many decent and honest judges who would be aching to get a spot on the Supreme Court.

And also, an apology? :confused:
 
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  • #33
Gokul43201 said:
So, is there any truth to the report that Miers claimed that Bush was "the most intelligent man" she ever met ?
If that be the case, then more shock than surprised.

Either she doesn't know many men, or at least not intelligent ones, or Bush has been hiding something. :rolleyes:
 
  • #34
deckart said:
And, Polly, are you suggesting China is an example to follow?

Nooooooo, we would never be that presumptuous or arrogant :-p . We are all entitled to deciding and finding our own path without infringing the right of others that is :biggrin:

deckart said:
I live in the best country on the planet. No matter how many problems we have, I would not live anywhere else.

I can imagine why you don't want us to know where it is :biggrin:
 
  • #35
motai said:
Technically none of us know very many total stranger either until we get to know them... :rolleyes:. What I don't understand is why he didn't choose someone with experience. I'm quite sure that there is a good chance that he could find at the very least a competent judge if he visits any local, state, or DCA courthouse. There are most likely many decent and honest judges who would be aching to get a spot on the Supreme Court.

And also, an apology? :confused:
Aside from that quote qualifying for the Bushism collection, that reasoning struck me as odd. Even with a little too much vacation time at the ranch...a governor or president doesn't get out much? (True, he was only governor for five years--indicating that he himself was not particularly qualified for president). Bush wanted to find another candidate like Roberts who didn't have much of a record to be scrutinized. What a strategy, but this time the qualifications aren't there either.
 
  • #36
scrappleface.com said:
In a news conference to nominate White House Counsel Harriet Miers, 60, as an associate justice on the high court, Mr. Bush admitted, "I don't get out much, and I don't personally know very many total strangers. So, I had to settle for someone whose views, personality, intellectual abilities and work habits were familiar to me. I hope the American people will eventually find it in their hearts to forgive me."

motai said:
Technically none of us know very many total stranger either until we get to know them... . What I don't understand is why he didn't choose someone with experience. I'm quite sure that there is a good chance that he could find at the very least a competent judge if he visits any local, state, or DCA courthouse. There are most likely many decent and honest judges who would be aching to get a spot on the Supreme Court.

And also, an apology?
SOS2008 said:
Aside from that quote qualifying for the Bushism collection, that reasoning struck me as odd. Even with a little too much vacation time at the ranch...a governor or president doesn't get out much? (True, he was only governor for five years--indicating that he himself was not particularly qualified for president). Bush wanted to find another candidate like Roberts who didn't have much of a record to be scrutinized. What a strategy, but this time the qualifications aren't there either.
:rolleyes: Actually, scrappleface is a news satire website.

Geez, Bush's credibility has sunk pretty low when it becomes impossible to tell the difference between satirical fictional quotes attributed to him and actual quotes. :smile:

Edit: There's actually some funny satirical articles at that site as well:
http://www.scrappleface.com/MT/archives/002342.html
http://www.scrappleface.com/MT/archives/002345.html
 
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  • #37
Polly said:
We are all entitled to deciding and finding our own path without infringing the right of others that is :biggrin:

Yeah, like jailing people just because they have opinions different from the party.
Or killing people to make beauty products.
 
  • #38
An *experienced* judge surely must have a lot of personal equity in their previous decisions. Baggage is another name for it. Would it affect future decisions? Perhaps.

I like the idea of Mier being out of the club, so to speak.
 
  • #39
I have a problem with the fact that a lot of Miers experience revolves around Bush himself and various agencies of the state of texas. Most of her experience is not related to courtroom activity.

Even in the Disney and Microsoft cases which she was associated with, she was only one among many other attorneys involved.

When Bush decided to run for governor of Texas in the early 1990s, he turned to Miers to research his own background for information that his opponents might try to use against him. When terrorists struck the United States in 2001, she was with him as staff secretary on what had been a routine trip to Florida.

http://channelone.com/news/2005/10/04/ap_court/
 
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  • #40
More fodder :

In the late 1990s two guys, a former pro football player named Russell Erxleben and Brian Stearns, ran a $40 million + ponzi (pyramid) scheme involving hundreds of people, bilking them out of tens of thousands of dollars a piece. The secret to the sheer magnitude of their scheme is that rather than keeping their money in a bank, they kept it in Locke, Liddell and Sapp's trust fund. They then convinced potential "investors" that the money was safe because it was locked up in this big law firm's trust fund. To close the deal, they told them that one Harriet Miers was a partner there and that she worked for the governor. Locke Liddell knew what was going on, kept quiet about it and ended up getting sued and having to settle for more than $30 million in the affair. At the time Miers was a managing partner, meaning she was on watch when this scandal went down.

Either Ms. Miers was in on the deal or she is highly incompetent.
..
..
Stearns was sentenced last July to 30 years in federal prison for defrauding investors of $40 million. Among his victims were 342 investors from Brady, the central Texas hometown of the beauty queen Stearns married in 1998. The Brady investors were swindled out of $4.5 million.

In August, Lock Liddell agreed to pay $8.5 million to settle the lawsuit filed by Brady residents and investors from California and Canada. The Brady investors recovered less than 70 cents on the dollar.

Locke Liddell denied any wrongdoing and said it settled the case to avoid lengthy litigation.

http://www.burntorangereport.com/mt/archives/2005/10/is_ms_miers_jus.html
 
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  • #41
Just how good of a job did Miers do as staff secretary?

Ms. Miers recent career has been marked by her participation at the highest levels of government.

She was appointed Assistant to the President and Staff Secretary on January 20, 2001. As Staff Secretary, Ms. Miers acted as "the ultimate gatekeeper for what crosses the desk of the nation's commander in chief." In addition to this important role, Ms. Miers supervised more than 60 employees in four departments.

In 2003, Ms. Miers was named Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff. As part of the Office of the Chief of Staff, she was a top domestic policy advisor to the President.

Ms. Miers has served as Counsel to the President since February 2005. In this role, she has served as the top lawyer to the President and the White House, and in particular has been the principal advisor judicial nominations.
That would have made her "the ultimate gatekeeper for what crosses the desk of the nation's commander in chief" for:

a) the President's October 2002 Cincinnati speech making a case for an Iraq invasion - a speech where a reference to Iraq attempting to buy yellow cake uranium from Niger was removed.

b) the President's January 2003 State of the Union speech - a speech where the reference to the Niger yellow cake remained in the speech.
 
  • #42
BobG said:
:rolleyes: Actually, scrappleface is a news satire website.

Geez, Bush's credibility has sunk pretty low when it becomes impossible to tell the difference between satirical fictional quotes attributed to him and actual quotes. :smile:
That registered as satirical when it was originally posted. See how propaganda works? You keep repeating it over and over... But true, it was believable because of all the Bushisms--the best satire has a little truth in it.
edward said:
I have a problem with the fact that a lot of Miers experience revolves around Bush himself and various agencies of the state of texas. Most of her experience is not related to courtroom activity.

Even in the Disney and Microsoft cases which she was associated with, she was only one among many other attorneys involved.
The cronyism and lack of experience seems to be just as big an issue--if not more--than her evangelical background.
 
  • #43
Miers seems to be very much anti-abortion.

Sadly, I don't expect the democrats to put up much opposition with harry reid actually endorsing her.
 
  • #44
Interesting twist to this story.

Miers Gets Mixed Reception from Christian Right

All Things Considered, October 5, 2005 · Some Christian conservatives have expressed support for Harriet Miers, President Bush's nomination to the Supreme Court. But others say her choice marks a watershed for a movement betrayed.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4946766


. . . she is highly incompetent.
or if she believes that Bush is one of the most intelligent men she has ever met, I would have to question her judgement. :rolleyes:
 
  • #45
Astronuc said:
Ior if she believes that Bush is one of the most intelligent men she has ever met, I would have to question her judgement. :rolleyes:

Why? If the only reason she has any position whatsoever is because she latched on to a Texas governor and lampreyed her way to the top on his back, how would it not be good judgement to say exaggerated good things about her benefactor? She apparently has few real qualifications of any kind, so this kind of sucking-up to the higher ups is very good judgement on her part.
 
  • #46
rachmaninoff said:
Why? If the only reason she has any position whatsoever is because she latched on to a Texas governor and lampreyed her way to the top on his back, how would it not be good judgement to say exaggerated good things about her benefactor? She apparently has few real qualifications of any kind, so this kind of sucking-up to the higher ups is very good judgement on her part.
I don't know that she doesn't have experience that would qualify her for a position as a judge. How many judges have experience as judges before they become one. She has tried cases as a lawyer, and she was president of the Texas Bar, so she does have experience as a lawyer and knowledge of the law.

The questions are:

Does she have an in-depth knowledge of Constitutional law?

Is she fair and unbiased, or does she have a political /religious agenda?

Even if she has deep personal religious beliefs, can she put those aside when ruling on a law that affects other's beliefs or freedoms?

There is this - Supreme Court Nominee Harriet Miers' Spiritual Journey
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4949038
Morning Edition, October 7, 2005 · The story that's emerging of Harriet Miers' religious conversion is an important part of her life -- and a key factor in the deliberations over her nomination to the Supreme Court. But Miers' faith doesn't fit a simple stereotype of an evangelical.


However, this is somewhat encouraging.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051007/ap_on_go_su_co/miers_religion_3;_ylt=Aon5.4bEhz_ptFQ_eFKpwbVuCM0A;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
If Harriet Miers is confirmed, evangelicals can finally claim one of their own on the U.S. Supreme Court. Yet the spiritual journey that led her to be born again and spend 25 years affiliated with a conservative church has not eased concerns among Christians about her views on abortion, gay rights and other key social issues.
 
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  • #47
BobG said:
Just how good of a job did Miers do as staff secretary?


That would have made her "the ultimate gatekeeper for what crosses the desk of the nation's commander in chief" for:

a) the President's October 2002 Cincinnati speech making a case for an Iraq invasion - a speech where a reference to Iraq attempting to buy yellow cake uranium from Niger was removed.

b) the President's January 2003 State of the Union speech - a speech where the reference to the Niger yellow cake remained in the speech.
Wouldn't that also include the August 6th, 2001 PDB entitled "Osama bin Laden determined to strike inside the US"?
 
  • #48
Skyhunter said:
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobG
Just how good of a job did Miers do as staff secretary?


That would have made her "the ultimate gatekeeper for what crosses the desk of the nation's commander in chief" for:

a) the President's October 2002 Cincinnati speech making a case for an Iraq invasion - a speech where a reference to Iraq attempting to buy yellow cake uranium from Niger was removed.

b) the President's January 2003 State of the Union speech - a speech where the reference to the Niger yellow cake remained in the speech.
Wouldn't that also include the August 6th, 2001 PDB entitled "Osama bin Laden determined to strike inside the US"?
Yes, but I'm not sure what responsibility the staff secretary would have for that.

Considering the coordination and double checking that must go on to make sure the President doesn't say something totally stupid or flat out wrong, I would think having a statement taken out for one speech, but left in for another, would raise red flags all over the place for someone who is intimately involved in that coordination process.
 
  • #49
I posted what I heard on CNN, but didn't want to sift through transcripts to provide evidence, then just read this earlier today:

Harriet Miers, who apparently called President Bush the "most brilliant" person she's known
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5445086/

The entire article is interesting aside from this (especially those who are dissapointed that it won't result in a knock-down, drag-out fight :eek: ). Just because Reid seems to like her, I don't know why there is an assumption that other Dems will vote for her nomination. Add to that the Repubs who may not vote for her, I'm not so sure she is the shoe-in people think she is.
 
  • #50
Apparently (and this is contrary to what Bush has been saying mind you) Miers wasn't the "most qualified" for the position of SC justice; rather she is the *ahem* most qualified *ahem* conservative who didn't turn down the position.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=afZ1uUaVxVgU&refer=top_world_news

This is too funny. The Wh has been caught in yet another lie. Bold faced mind you. Miers wasn't even in the top 9 picks for the SC:

McClellan declined to identify any of the people who declined to be considered. He said the list of possible nominees was ``well into the double digits'' at the time.

A PRIME example of spin over substance.
 
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  • #51
Hmmmm, religion was a basis. I guess Bush doesn't have a "litmus test"; however, selecting a SCJ based on their religious background might is a litmus test contrary to what Mr. Bush thinks. http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/10/12/miers.ap/index.html
 
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  • #52
Though limited, documents and history are beginning to emerge. It appears that Ms. Miers should be given the Brown-nose Medal.
 
  • #53
SOS2008 said:
Though limited, documents and history are beginning to emerge. It appears that Ms. Miers should be given the Brown-nose Medal.
What, a new MO for the Bush administration? Now if you screw up, instead of being awarded the Medal of Freedom, they name a new medal after you?
 
  • #54
SOS2008 said:
Though limited, documents and history are beginning to emerge. It appears that Ms. Miers should be given the Brown-nose Medal.
BobG said:
What, a new MO for the Bush administration? Now if you screw up, instead of being awarded the Medal of Freedom, they name a new medal after you?

:smile:10 characters
 
  • #55
Well, she has the wingnut vote. http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=19453
 
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  • #56
Scotty is having some fun answering ---gasp---questions. I know, questions are anathema to the Bush Wh but they are being asked now and Bush can't seem to make them stop. Not even with a NYC terror threat.

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001305157
 
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  • #57
faust9 said:
Scotty is having some fun answering ---gasp---questions. I know, questions are anathema to the Bush Wh but they are being asked now and Bush can't seem to make them stop. Not even with a NYC terror threat.

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001305157
I love to watch the Scotty dance, he is so awkward.:smile:
 
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  • #58
Skyhunter said:
I love to watch the Scotty dance, he is so awkward.:smile:
If the questioning had been about her qualifications, why do I suspect the dance would have continued? :smile:
 
  • #59
The president says Harriet Miers' religious convictions figured into his nomination. Democrats question White House assurances given to religious conservatives.
Karl Rove mentioned to a religious and evangelical broadcaster, several days before Bush announced the nomination publicly. Why all the secrecy, and why the need to re-assure the religious community.

It doesn't bode well for the integrity of the process.
 
  • #60
Here's John Fund of WSJ's piece
How She Slipped Through
Harriet Miers's nomination resulted from a failed vetting process.


http://www.opinionjournal.com/diary/?id=110007398"

Democrats have always spoken for abortion. Now we have a candidate who by all indications is severely pro-life. Where are the Democrats now?
 
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