Miers named nomiee to Supreme Court

[KSigkid]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051003/...wh/bush_scotus

Harriet Miers was just named as President Bush's nominee to replace Sandra Day O'Connor. Let the debate begin.

ETA: I can't believe I spelled nominee wrong in the title. Moe.ron, are you able to fix that for me?

[Honeykiss1974]

With no record, its hard to say(for me anyway).

I'm sure her confirmation hearing will be interesting, to say that least.

[moe.ron]

The confirmation is going to be interesting, with both sides trying to figure out where exactly she stands.

[Kevlar281]

Horrible horrible choice.

[moe.ron]

Something from 2004 NY Times.

The woman President Bush appointed this week as White House counsel, Harriet Miers, is hardly known in Washington but has a history in Texas of handling years of scandal at the state's lottery commission. The president, who once retained her as his personal lawyer, described her in 1996 as "a pit bull in Size 6 shoes."

Those attributes should help her in a new job that requires her to advise Mr. Bush not only on national security and military law - a large part of the counsel's responsibilities since Sept. 11, 2001 - but also on continuing legal investigations, including an inquiry into who in the administration leaked the name of a C.I.A. undercover officer.

"She's the kind of person you want in your corner when all the chips are being played," said one friend, Joseph M. Allbaugh, former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. "She will give the president advice unvarnished, and that's exactly what he wants."

Ms. Miers, 59, currently serves as deputy chief of staff for policy and assistant to the president. She has rarely, if ever, talked to reporters since arriving in Washington in 2001, and she declined a request for an interview on Friday.

But her history, and comments from friends, suggest that she is the kind of woman, like Karen P. Hughes and Condoleezza Rice, whom Mr. Bush likes on his staff: tough, direct and intensely loyal. Her appointment reflects the president's determination to promote longtime members of his inner circle to critical positions for his second term.

"Harriet Miers is a trusted adviser on whom I have relied for straightforward advice," Mr. Bush said in a statement released this week. "Harriet has the keen judgment and discerning intellect necessary to be an outstanding counsel."

In 1995, Mr. Bush, then in his first months as governor of Texas, appointed Ms. Miers to a six-year term as chairwoman of the Texas Lottery Commission. Ms. Miers unexpectedly resigned after five years that were marked by controversy and the dismissal of two executive directors of the commission.

The first executive director, Nora Linares, was fired in 1997 when it became public that her boyfriend had worked for the company that held the contract to operate the lottery. Ms. Linares's successor was dismissed after only five months when he began reviewing campaign contributions of state legislators without the commission's knowledge.

Despite the problems, as well as the lottery's declining sales, The Dallas Morning News praised Ms. Miers when she resigned in 2000 for "preserving the operations' integrity."

Ms. Miers, who is unmarried, was born and raised in Dallas, one of five children whose father was in the real estate business. She graduated from Southern Methodist University and its law school, then went to work in Dallas for Locke Purnell Rain Harrell. In 1985 she became the first woman to be president of the Dallas Bar Association, and in 1992 the first woman to be president of the Texas State Bar.

She became the president of Locke Purnell in 1996, the first woman to lead a major Texas law firm. In 1998, she presided over the merger of Locke Purnell with another big Texas firm, Liddell, Sapp, Zivley, Hill & LaBoon, and became co-managing partner of the resulting megafirm, Locke Liddell & Sapp.

In 2001, Mr. Bush brought Ms. Miers to Washington with him as his staff secretary, a little known but powerful job in which she handled much of the paper flow to the president. Ms. Miers is a regular guest at Camp David and is often the only woman who accompanies Mr. Bush and male staff members in long brush-cutting and cedar-clearing sessions at the president's ranch.

Ms. Miers has an extremely low profile in Washington. She was better known in Texas, where Governor Bush introduced her when she received the Anti-Defamation League's Jurisprudence Award in 1996.

"When it comes to cross-examination," Mr. Bush said then, "she can fillet better than Mrs. Paul."

[moe.ron]

David Frum on the nomination:

I believe I was the first to float the name of Harriet Miers, White House counsel, as a possible Supreme Court. Today her name is all over the news. I have to confess that at the time, I was mostly joking. Harriet Miers is a capable lawyer, a hard worker, and a kind and generous person. She would be an reasonable choice for a generalist attorney, which is indeed how George W. Bush first met her. She would make an excellent trial judge: She is a careful and fair-minded listener. But US Supreme Court?

She served Bush well, but she is not the person to lead the court in new directions - or to stand up under the criticism that a conservative justice must expect.

Link to the Article

[DeltAlum]

"Her appointment reflects the president's determination to promote longtime members of his inner circle to critical positions for his second term."

I will wait and try to learn more about Ms. Miers before making a decision on how I feel about this nomination, however, the quote above underlines one of the things I dislike about President Bush.

Simply put, it's cronyism.

[valkyrie]

Originally posted by DeltAlum
"Her appointment reflects the president's determination to promote longtime members of his inner circle to critical positions for his second term."

I will wait and try to learn more about Ms. Miers before making a decision on how I feel about this nomination, however, the quote above underlines one of the things I dislike about President Bush.

Simply put, it's cronyism.

Yes. Is this going to be much better than when he appointed his buddy with no relevant experience to head FEMA?

[GeekyPenguin]

I think most of the lawyers on this board are more qualified than her.

[jubilance1922]

I'm concerned that she has no judicial experience...Being a judge is a lot different from being a lawyer.

[Rudey]

Originally posted by DeltAlum
"Her appointment reflects the president's determination to promote longtime members of his inner circle to critical positions for his second term."

I will wait and try to learn more about Ms. Miers before making a decision on how I feel about this nomination, however, the quote above underlines one of the things I dislike about President Bush.

Simply put, it's cronyism.

It's politics and it's definitely not one-sided.

-Rudey

[KSig RC]

Originally posted by GeekyPenguin
I think most of the lawyers on this board are more qualified than her.

Defend this position.

-or-

Since it's hyperbole, at least give us a rundown of what particular attributes Ms. Miers lacks that are required for the job. Discussion, people.

[Honeykiss1974]

In Bush's nomination speech, he mentioned that she is not the first SCJ to not have experience as a judge (I believe he mentioned 35 others have not).

I haven't verified this but did anyone else hear this? I was getting ready for work and listening at the same time so I'm not sure if I misunderstood or what.

I thought that was interesting.

[GeekyPenguin]

Originally posted by KSig RC
Defend this position.

-or-

Since it's hyperbole, at least give us a rundown of what particular attributes Ms. Miers lacks that are required for the job. Discussion, people.

Is it hyperbole? There are several attorneys on this board who have clerked in more prominent positions than her.

She lacks judicial experience, which I think is acceptable IF you are an amazing legal scholar (she isn't) or have an amazing background of cases tried (she doesn't). While I may not like the viewpoints of Scalia or Roberts, they were QUALIFIED to sit on the court. This woman is not any more qualified for the Supreme Court than a managing partner at a firm down the street. She has no significant and unique legal experience.

[BetteDavisEyes]

Originally posted by jubilance1922
I'm concerned that she has no judicial experience...Being a judge is a lot different from being a lawyer.

Agree with this opinion.