Patterico's Pontifications

10/24/2005

Howard J. Bashman on the Miers Nomination

Filed under: Judiciary — Patterico @ 10:12 pm



This article by Howard Bashman on the Harriet Miers nomination is excellent. (H/t: who else? Howard himself.) It is very measured, which is consistent with Howard’s very low-key, non-polemical approach to his fine blog. In light of that, it’s a little surprising how critical he is of the nomination:

Replacing Justice O’Connor with a person of unknown views and unknown judicial ability is, frankly, a frightening proposition.

. . . .

Harriet Miers does not appear to be another Scalia, Thomas, or Rehnquist. And that causes many on the political right to fear that she could be the next David H. Souter.

Of course, the first President Bush didn’t know Souter well before nominating him to the Court, while the current President Bush has had a long time to get to know Harriet Miers. But again, when we find out what sort of a Justice Harriet Miers is, it will be too late to do anything about it. And the defense that the White House is offering — that the nominee’s supposed personal views should reassure those who hoped President Bush would nominate someone in the mold of Justices Scalia and Thomas — seems wholly inconsistent with what conservatives have been saying about the distinction between a judge’s personal views and constitutional opinions.

I agree with Howard’s assessment that Miers will be confirmed, as well as with his wry final paragraph and sentence:

Even though neither you (assuming you’re not President Bush) nor I would have nominated Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court, I presume she will be confirmed to serve on the Court. After all, enough Republican Senators will support her, and she already has the support of the Senate’s Democratic Leader, Harry Reid.

So let’s try to end on a hopeful note. President Bush’s nomination demonstrates that leading a law firm can qualify one to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. The nomination shows that bar association leadership can lead to a seat on the highest Court on the land. And I’m sure that some members of the Dallas City Council are looking forward to being fitted for a judicial robe and having a large corner office in the marble palace at One First Street, N.E. in Washington, DC. Of course, being a close friend of the President never hurts, either.

Well done.

Comments are closed.


Powered by WordPress.

Page loaded in: 0.0660 secs.