Peace On That

Dell Gines has an interesting theory on why Bush nominated Harriet Miers for the Supreme Court:

But I believe Bush was reasonably sure she wouldn’t win. Knowing that a fight over the next nomination was imminent under any scenario, after the ease of the Roberts confirmation, and that the democrats would have guns blazing, or else they would look weak and complacent to their constituents, you let a point man (woman in this case) take the heaviest round of ammo. (source)

I’m not sure if GWB is that politically smart but it is an interesting theory. Bush is taking a lot of flack from his conservative base and I think at some point Democrats need to step out and oppose this nomination as well. The fact that we know nothing of Harriet Miers' qualification and what paper trail there is of her is guarded by attorney-client privilege should give us pause. How can Bush assert that Miers is qualified then not release the papers where she gave opinions on issue regarding the constitution?

If I were a Dem Senator I would do this: I would oppose the nomination on the grounds that she is not qualified and I would acknowledge that the next nomination might be more conservative than I would like. However, I would state that I am more concerned with the integrity of the court than I am with the philosophy. I would also state that it is reasonable for Senators to debate the philosophy of a nominee but it is unacceptable to debate the qualifications of a Supreme Court nominee.

What I know about the law is derived from hours sitting in front of the television watching Law & Order. So I really can’t speak to judicial philosophy. However, I do know that Constitutional law is very complicated and when a Supreme Court nominee makes a mistake on a questionnaire with what many regarded as a simple Constitutional question, I say that there is a problem.

How about a sports analogy: The Chicago Bears has a head coach opening and the GM is on the search. The conservatives are calling for a coach who runs the West Coast (WC) offense and the Liberals want a coach who believes in a balanced (BL) style offense. There are several prominent assistant coaches who run the WC offense and the GM is a man who believes in the WC offense. Now, these assistants worked with very successful coaches where the WC offense was THE philosophy. So when the Bears head coach position is available, the assumption is made that the GM will select who is from the WC lineage.