Bush's surprising choice
Harriet Miers has built a remarkable legal career.
Back in 1970, she became the first woman lawyer hired by a big Dallas firm. She rose to partner, became a top litigator and served terms as head of the Dallas and Texas bar associations. She also served on the Dallas City Council.
Gov. George W. Bush appointed her to the Texas Lottery Commission.
She's worked for him in a number of White House positions, currently as White House counsel.
All she lacks is a judicial experience.
That's not a small hole in the resume of a nominee for U.S. Supreme Court.
Get ready for a battle over this one.
Liberal groups will try to pick apart her background, looking for reasons to oppose her. They'll invent some if they have to.
Conservative groups also will wonder how she might rule on key issues.
Bush did not choose a woman guaranteed to set off a firestorm -- Priscilla Owen or Janice Rogers Brown, for example. They already encountered resistance when they were named to appellate court seats.
But in picking Miers, Bush has gone with someone with such a clean slate that it's going to take a while before strategies for and against her can be developed.
Her gender may make it a bit harder for some senators to vote against her. But partisanship is powerful. Anything can happen.
Comments (2)
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Harry Reid will have a heck of a time voting against her after his grandious platter about her. But then I am sure that we can count on at least the 21 of the 22 who voted against Roberts to vote against Meirs. Someone will step in to take over the vote Harry cast against Roberts to bring it back to the original 22 obstructionist.
Posted on October 4, 2005 2:35 PM
Fortunately, it takes more than 22 of them to obstruct.
All the Republicans are probably on board, but I guess some of them aren't all that happy.
Bush knows Harriet Miers well enough to understand her judicial philosophy, I would hope, but it's pretty hard for the rest of us to guess what kind of justice she'll be.
Posted on October 4, 2005 2:39 PM