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Harriett Miers Supreme Court nomination

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kmhowe72

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-- President Bush to nominate White House counsel Harriett Miers to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, CNN has learned

www.cnn.com
 
Re: Harriett Miers supreme court nominee

kmhowe72 said:
-- President Bush to nominate White House counsel Harriett Miers to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, CNN has learned

www.cnn.com

I need to read up on her, but I don't like that she hasn't been a judge, so we do not know how she stands on certain issues. I have a feeling that a filibuster may be looming, and I believe that if that happens, the republicans may seek to remove that ability (which I think would be assinine).
 
Re: Harriett Miers supreme court nominee

I don't know much about her, but the Dems said they would filibuster any ideologoue. The very little I do know about her, she has to be one, since she is so closely aligned with Bush, and she is a former White House aid.
 
Re: Harriett Miers supreme court nominee

aps said:
I need to read up on her, but I don't like that she hasn't been a judge,

Neither were 32 justicies who served including Blackmon, Warren and Rhenquist, it's not a qualifier.

so we do not know how she stands on certain issues.

Judges are not suppost to prejudge issues.


I have a feeling that a filibuster may be looming, and I believe that if that happens, the republicans may seek to remove that ability (which I think would be assinine).

What would be the extrordinary circumstance which the gang of 14 said would have to exist?

She brings a highly qualified resume' why do you seem to be dismissing her?
 
Re: Harriett Miers supreme court nominee

kal-el said:
I don't know much about her, but the Dems said they would filibuster any ideologoue. The very little I do know about her, she has to be one, since she is so closely aligned with Bush, and she is a former White House aid.

Talk about prejudging a person, and define what you specifically mean by "ideologue"? And the Dems said they would filibuster only in extraordinary circumstances, what is extraordinary. She seems to be someone who respects the consitution and what it says. She has a very respectable resume', very well qualified.
 
Re: Harriett Miers supreme court nominee

Stinger said:
Neither were 32 justicies who served including Blackmon, Warren and Rhenquist, it's not a qualifier.

Judges are not suppost to prejudge issues.

What would be the extrordinary circumstance which the gang of 14 said would have to exist?

She brings a highly qualified resume' why do you seem to be dismissing her?

I hadn't thought of the extraordinary circumstances qualifier. I agree--that may be tough to meet.

Stinger, I read "Meeting Justice Blackmun" by Linda Greenhouse, which was about his life. Blackmun was definitely a judge before going to the Supreme Court. I am not sure about Warren (who was best friends with Blackmun until a case at the Supreme Court tore that relationship apart).

I am not dismissing her, but I have doubts about her because I am sure she has assured the president of how she would vote in certain cases (or he knows it regardless of her assurance or not), and I know it's not what I would want for this country. I thought Roberts was a very qualified candidate, and I supported the nomination.
 
Re: Harriett Miers supreme court nominee

aps said:
I need to read up on her, but I don't like that she hasn't been a judge, so we do not know how she stands on certain issues. I have a feeling that a filibuster may be looming, and I believe that if that happens, the republicans may seek to remove that ability (which I think would be assinine).


THERE IS NOTHING TO READ UP. SHE HAS NO JUDICIAL (JUDGE) EXPERIENCE..
 
Re: Harriett Miers supreme court nominee

wxcrazytwo said:
THERE IS NOTHING TO READ UP. SHE HAS NO JUDICIAL (JUDGE) EXPERIENCE..

Yes there is--where she went to undergrad, law school, and her job experiences.

Crazy, you are right--there is nothing to read up on. I just saw her biography. I'll be interested to hear her answers during her confirmation hearings.
 
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Re: Harriett Miers supreme court nominee

aps said:
Yes there is--where she went to undergrad, law school, and her job experiences.

Crazy, you are right--there is nothing to read up on. I just saw her biography. I'll be interested to hear her answers during her confirmation hearings.

We can conclude by her being bushs tail, but otherwise, nothing..She has no cases that she has had in front of her.
 
Re: Harriett Miers supreme court nominee

Stinger said:
Talk about prejudging a person, and define what you specifically mean by "ideologue"? And the Dems said they would filibuster only in extraordinary circumstances, what is extraordinary. She seems to be someone who respects the consitution and what it says. She has a very respectable resume', very well qualified.

By Idealogue, I mean someone who is far on the right. President Bush wants to leave his conservative "stamp" on America for decades to come. If she is confirmed, I'm almost sure she will force America to take a radical shift to the right.
 
Re: Harriett Miers supreme court nominee

kal-el said:
By Idealogue, I mean someone who is far on the right. President Bush wants to leave his conservative "stamp" on America for decades to come. If she is confirmed, I'm almost sure she will force America to take a radical shift to the right.

Kal-el, HE HAS ALREADY PLACED HIS STAMP ON AMERICA FOR THE REST OF EVERYONE'S LIFE.
 
Re: Harriett Miers supreme court nominee

I simply have to wonder one thing....of all the qualified Judges, with voting records and experience dealing with interpretation of Law, why Her.

I for one automatically went on guard and became defensive when I looked into her background, as the very little that was there to read primarily looked as if she was working for Bush. I would prefer we try to keep the last check in place, as the checks and balances are fading away as we speak.
 
Re: Harriett Miers supreme court nominee

tecoyah said:
I simply have to wonder one thing....of all the qualified Judges, with voting records and experience dealing with interpretation of Law, why Her.

I for one automatically went on guard and became defensive when I looked into her background, as the very little that was there to read primarily looked as if she was working for Bush. I would prefer we try to keep the last check in place, as the checks and balances are fading away as we speak.

I agree, why he picked her is some what of a mystery. Being that she has worked for Bush makes me warry about our seperation of powers. How come he can't appease the 48% that didn't vot for him and appoint someone with a more liberal view?
 
Re: Harriett Miers supreme court nominee

Moderate said:
I agree, why he picked her is some what of a mystery. Being that she has worked for Bush makes me warry about our seperation of powers. How come he can't appease the 48% that didn't vot for him and appoint someone with a more liberal view?

That is an excellent point (about separation of powers). As to the 48% question, I do think that as president, he should be entitled to pick someone who is more conservative (Clinton got Ginsberg and Breyer, both of whom are very liberal). However, the fact that this woman has worked for him is what is bugging me. I know this may sound snobby, but her education was not impressive, and neither is her work experience. I expect much more from someone nominated for the highest court.
 
Re: Harriett Miers supreme court nominee

I have no problem with her qualification as to being a lawyer. She is a good one, and worked her way to the top of her law firm. She also did a good job as the head of the Texas Lottery Commission when Bush appointed her.

My problem is that she has no judicial experience whatsoever. Because of that, I am against her nomination. Has nothing to do with her ideology either. I supported the Roberts nomination, and I will support a Conservative choice where the nominee has judicial experience. I just cannot support her, because of the lack of experience. Bush made a poor choice with this one.

One can have an A+ rating with the ABA as a lawyer, but still be ill suited as a judge. Without a track record, there is no way to tell if she will be good or bad as a member of SCOTUS. Without experience, we just dont know.
 
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Re: Harriett Miers supreme court nominee

Well, according to the National Review, a conservative newssource, she could be a bit too left leaning. If they think that and the dems accuse her of being too conservative, I think we might find a good happy middle ground. If so, good for Bush.
The Senate would have confirmed Luttig, Alito, or McConnell. It certainly would have confirmed a Senator Mitch McConnell or a Senator Jon Kyl, had the president felt even a little nervous about the ultimate vote.

There was no reason for him to choose anyone but one of these outstanding conservatives. As for the diversity argument, it just seems incredible to imagine that anybody would have criticized this president of all people for his lack of devotion to that doctrine. He has appointed minorities and women to the highest offices in the land, relied on women as his closest advisers, and staffed his administration through and through with Americans of every race, sex, faith, and national origin. He had nothing to apologize for on that score. So the question must be asked, as Admiral Rickover once demanded of Jimmy Carter: Why not the best?

I worked with Harriet Miers. She's a lovely person: intelligent, honest, capable, loyal, discreet, dedicated ... I could pile on the praise all morning. But there is no reason at all to believe either that she is a legal conservative or--and more importantly--that she has the spine and steel necessary to resist the pressures that constantly bend the American legal system toward the left. This is a chance that may never occur again: a decisive vacancy on the court, a conservative president, a 55-seat Republican majority, a large bench of brilliant and superbly credentialed conservative jurists ... and what has been done with the opportunity?

I am not saying that Harriet Miers is not a legal conservative. I am not saying that she is not steely. I am saying only that there is no good reason to believe either of these things. Not even her closest associates on the job have good reason to believe either of these things. In other words, we are being asked by this president to take this appointment purely on trust, without any independent reason to support it. And that is not a request conservatives can safely grant.
 
Re: Harriett Miers supreme court nominee

shuamort said:
Well, according to the National Review, a conservative newssource, she could be a bit too left leaning. If they think that and the dems accuse her of being too conservative, I think we might find a good happy middle ground. If so, good for Bush.

Much better written than my post, and reflects my sentiments exactly. Without the track record, we just dont know what we are getting.

George W. Gump said:
Supreme Court nominees are like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get.
 
Re: Harriett Miers supreme court nominee

And so far, the history of republican appointed jurists in the supreme court that don't have a lot (or any) of judicial experience is that they end up being moderate or even left. (Souter, for example).
 
Re: Harriett Miers supreme court nominee

Moderate said:
I agree, why he picked her is some what of a mystery. Being that she has worked for Bush makes me warry about our seperation of powers. How come he can't appease the 48% that didn't vot for him and appoint someone with a more liberal view?

Harry Ried seems to like her and bunch of other Senators said that she would be confirmed. Can you list anything in her background that would unqualify her. She brings quite a resume'.
 
Re: Harriett Miers supreme court nominee

tecoyah said:
I simply have to wonder one thing....of all the qualified Judges, with voting records and experience dealing with interpretation of Law, why Her.

I for one automatically went on guard and became defensive when I looked into her background, as the very little that was there to read primarily looked as if she was working for Bush. I would prefer we try to keep the last check in place, as the checks and balances are fading away as we speak.
There is very little in the way of legal background that makes her qualified, but that isn't necessarily a requirement anymore. But I fear for Bush...I know, because I think that he is once again going back to personal friends instead of the most and best qualified, even if that person is more conservative. Whatever, it will be what it will be.

And Stinger-the fact that she doesn't have much of a record is what is questionable. We don't know her judicial policy or anything like that, whether she will be constructionist or other. Bascially, she is too much of an unknown quantity. But I for one am going to take a chance and say right now that is a good thing for mod libs in this country.
 
Re: Harriett Miers supreme court nominee

aps said:
I hadn't thought of the extraordinary circumstances qualifier. I agree--that may be tough to meet.


Stinger, I read "Meeting Justice Blackmun" by Linda Greenhouse, which was about his life. Blackmun was definitely a judge before going to the Supreme Court.

Sorry I meant Hugo Black not Blackmun.

I am not sure about Warren (who was best friends with Blackmun until a case at the Supreme Court tore that relationship apart).

Never a judge as many of the Supreme's, it is not a requirement.

I am not dismissing her, but I have doubts about her because I am sure she has assured the president of how she would vote in certain cases

Which is pure speculation on your part, you can't possibly be "sure". Seems she has been a Democrat for most of her life.
 
Re: Harriett Miers supreme court nominee

Stinger said:
Sorry I meant Hugo Black not Blackmun.



Never a judge as many of the Supreme's, it is not a requirement.



Which is pure speculation on your part, you can't possibly be "sure". Seems she has been a Democrat for most of her life.

Stinger, go back to your political world view. Every Justice has to have some kind of judge experience. Heckm without it you get SPAM (mystery meat).
 
Re: Harriett Miers supreme court nominee

kal-el said:
By Idealogue, I mean someone who is far on the right. President Bush wants to leave his conservative "stamp" on America for decades to come. If she is confirmed, I'm almost sure she will force America to take a radical shift to the right.

OK would someone who believes the constitution should be interpreted as it is written and that laws are to created in the legilature not the court fit your definition of ideolog?

How about Ginsberg, former council for the far left ACLU, and certainly rules towards far leftest ideas, is she an idealogue?
 
Re: Harriett Miers supreme court nominee

danarhea said:
My problem is that she has no judicial experience whatsoever. Because of that, I am against her nomination.

Since when was that a qualification? Justices do not "try" cases as do lower judges so why does that experience or lack of it alone disqualify her. Many many many justices have never served a day on the bench, some of the most celebrated in fact.
Has nothing to do with her ideology either. I supported the Roberts nomination, and I will support a Conservative choice where the nominee has judicial experience.

He barely had two years on the bench and that becomes the hallmark?

I just cannot support her, because of the lack of experience. Bush made a poor choice with this one.

On that basis alone?
 
Re: Harriett Miers supreme court nominee

Stinger said:
Harry Ried seems to like her and bunch of other Senators said that she would be confirmed. Can you list anything in her background that would unqualify her. She brings quite a resume'.

Her resume' is outstanding as is her reputation and likeability quotient. If lack of judicial experience is a qualifier, many of our truly great justices would have been disqualified. If there is anything that does raise a red flag for me, it is that Dirty Harry has recommended her. I would be more comfortable if the President had nominated somebody that had them scrambling to rally the troops for a fillibuster. I wanted somebody so much of a constitutional constructionist, the GOP would have to use the nuclear option to get him or her through the confirmation process. Her appointment looks too much like appeasement. But if she is as good as her reputation, she'll make a good Justice.
 
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