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Miers 1989 testimony sets
off more ire
News of an 1989 Harriet Miers interview has set off yet another wave of
conservative ire to her Supreme Court nomination. Here's WJS's James Taranto,
"Best of the Web":
The Miers Testimony
President Bush last week expressed his confidence in the constancy of
Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, saying that "20 years from now she'll
be the same person, with the same philosophy," as she is today. White House
aides making the case for Miers, meanwhile, have been insisting that she is
a reliable conservative. Since she has no judicial record and has had little
to say about constitutional law, we can only guess at what her judicial
philosophy might be, if indeed she has one at all. But if she is a
political conservative, then she has not remained constant over the past
20 years.
We base this on a look at her testimony in Williams v. Dallas, a
voting-rights case from 1989, when Miers was an at-large member of the
Dallas City Council. Read over it and the impression that emerges is of a
left-leaning centrist, not a conservative. (The testimony is
here, as a five-megabyte PDF file, but we're not 100% confident that our
server will be able to handle it. If it disappears, check back
here for a new link as soon as we're able to provide one.)
The
Drudge Report has picked up one aspect of this testimony: her
declaration that she had refrained from joining "politically charged"
organizations like the Federalist Society, even though she had been a member
of the liberal Progressive Voters League. When the lawyer questioning her
asked if the NAACP (of which she was not a member) was "in the category of
organizations you were talking about"--i.e., "politically charged"--she
answered "no." Notes Drudge: "In 1987, the NAACP launched a campaign to
defeat the nomination of Judge Robert Bork to the Supreme Court; In 1989,
the group organized the Silent March; over 100,000 protested U.S. Supreme
Court decisions the group claimed 'reversed many of the gains made against
discrimination.' "
Her description of her own positions on the City Council suggests that she
was far less conservative than the White House would have its supporters on
the right believe. She endorsed such fashionable liberal causes of the 1980s
as divestment from South Africa (page 47) and the activities of a "Homeless
Task Force" (page 49). She also recounts her efforts on behalf of welfare
spending (page 49):
I have strongly advocated the restoration of the $200,000 dental program
as a model program in terms of public partnership. I have supported the
maternal nurse care that was eliminated, be restored. The day-care money
that was deleted I have asked be restored because they principally benefit
women and minorities in my view.
On the other hand, she says she opposed the formation of a "Police Review
Board," even though according to the questioning lawyer it "was supported by
at least a majority of the voters in the African-American community,"
because, she says, "I do intend to vote based on the best interests of the
entire community" (page 48).
Wall Street Journal’s James Taranto offered this devastating analysis of
Miers:
President Bush last week expressed his confidence in the constancy of
Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, saying that "20 years from now she'll
be the same person, with the same philosophy," as she is today. White House
aides making the case for Miers, meanwhile, have been insisting that she is
a reliable conservative. Since she has no judicial record and has had little
to say about constitutional law, we can only guess at what her judicial
philosophy might be, if indeed she has one at all. But if she is a
political conservative, then she has not remained constant over the past
20 years.
Conservatives withdrew
Reuters confirms that individuals withdrew their names from consideration to
be nominated to the Supreme Court:
White House spokesman Scott McClellan confirmed what conservative Christian
leader James Dobson told his radio program about an October 1 telephone
conversation he had had with Bush's top political advisor Karl Rove, in
which Rove tried to convince Dobson to support Miers.
McClellan said it was "just a couple" of candidates who had withdrawn from
consideration.
On the trail of vetting
Wall Street Journal opinion John Fund’s
"On the Trail" questions the White House vetting process especially as
it relates to Harriet Miers:
The vetting of Harriet Miers leaves questions that demand answers, not more
spin or allegations that critics are "sexist" or "elitist." It was so
botched and riddled with conflicts of interest that it demands at a minimum
an internal White House investigation to ensure it won't happen again.
Not only did the vetting fail to anticipate skepticism about her lack of
experience in constitutional law or the firestorm of criticism from
conservatives, but it left the White House scrambling to provide reporters
with even the most basic information about the closed-mouthed nominee.
Almost every news story seemed to catch the White House off guard and
unprepared.
The skepticism is not abating...
Bayh attacks Rove
Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, while campaigning in Iowa for legislative
candidates, criticized White House advisor Karl Rove.
"Even if he's not indicted, if it appears that a top adviser to the
president of the United States was trying to harm someone personally for
having a different public policy point of view, that's unacceptable behavior
in the White House," Sen. Bayh said.
Bayh is in Iowa at the same time as Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who is
attending the World Food Prize presentation.
Edwards joins Wall Street
Forer Democrat vice presidential candidate John Edwards has joined a Wall
Street private investment group -- Fortress Investment Group. According to a
Business Week article, Edwards will "serve as a part-time global dealmaker.
[LINK]"
Edwards, an experienced trial lawyer and prior senator from North Carolina,
is still on the Democrats' own 'short list' for the 2008 presidential
nomination and was headliner for Iowa Senator Tom Harkin's Steak Fry – which
headlined John Kerry in 2004.
But what credentials of Edwards' would give him the nod for so-called global
dealmaking? The news article states:
Edwards was a highly successful trial lawyer in the Tarheel State before
going into politics. But his experience in Washington should serve him well
as a global financial adviser. He was on the Senate Intelligence Committee
in Congress and boned up on global economics during the 2004 Presidential
campaign for a nationally televised debate with Cheney. Edwards now serves
as a co-chair of a Council on Foreign Relations task force on U.S.-Russia
relations.
Of course, it doesn't hurt that Fortress Investment Group has it's own
Democrat leanings:
DEM LEANINGS. Fortress apparently has had its eye on Democratic politics
and Edwards for some time. During the 2004 Presidential campaign cycle, the
employees political action committee of the company contributed $143,650 to
Democratic candidates for Congress and the White House, including $4,000 to
Edwards. They gave just $10,500 to Republicans running for federal office.
Condi first on air
A group that believes that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice should
be the next president is putting up a TV ad on the Des Moines ABC affiliate
network show, "Commander and Chief." As far as IPW knows, this is the first
candidate ad for the 2008 presidency and the earliest ad ever in a
presidential election cycle.
Kennedy backs Kerry
The
Associated Press reports that Sen. Edward Kennedy will support Sen. John
Kerry over Hillary Clinton in 2008:
Sen. Edward Kennedy said Wednesday he would back fellow Massachusetts Sen.
John Kerry for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008 -- even if
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton also pursues a White House bid.
"If he runs, I would support him," Kennedy told The Associated Press in an
interview at his Boston office
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