California Conservative

“She is, in fact, a steel magnolia.” — Rep. Martin Frost (D-TX)

THE BIGGEST news of the day…

AP reports: “President Bush on Monday nominated White House counsel Harriet Miers to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on the Supreme Court, reaching into his loyal inner circle for another pick that could reshape the nation’s judiciary for years to come.”

“She has devoted her life to the rule of law and the cause of justice,” Bush said as his first Supreme Court pick, Chief Justice John Roberts, took the bench for the first time just a few blocks from the White House. “She will be an outstanding addition to the Supreme Court of the United States.”

The blogosphere reacts. See all the round-ups.

Some conservatives are concerned. Liberals are sharpening the knives.
Michelle Malkin
Instapundit
Powerline
Polipundit
Confirm Them
RightWingNews
Stop The ACLU
Captain Ed
Riehl World

GayPatriot makes some predictions.

(Will liberals dare to pull another another Mary Cheney?)

Wonkette delivers:

Since Harriet Miers is a 60-year-old lifelong bachelorette, it should come as no surprise that she swings both ways. We just didn’t expect proof of it to come so soon …”

Can win with liberals. They clamor for more gays and lesbians in office, and yet an umarried conservative female nominee must face speculation about her sexuality and threatened with an “outing.”

ConfederateYankee quips: “Bush a Uniter, not a Divider”

The intended sarcasm is to highlight that both conservatives and liberals are criticizing the Miers nomination.

We wonder why anyone should be surprised? President Bush is simply playing by the established rules of political correctness.

Liberals were ready to pounce on any other male conservative nominee, regardless of experience.

Consider this another pre-emptive strike. Waging a battle for the bench.

Harriet Miers satisfies the gender “diversity” requirement. And her lack of judicial experience is not unprecedented.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (interviewed by FOXNews): “There are plenty of examples of having no prior judicial experience … Rehnquist is one of them.”

She’s been a trailblazer as a female attorney, and the anticipation is that she’ll bring a strong sense of independence to the Supreme Court.

Consider this: Having achieved great professional success based on brains and hardwork, all at a time when women weren’t given preference, one may safely presume that Miers will not be sympathetic to today’s special interest advocacies seeking laws to make things easier for the less-qualified.

UPDATE: 9:54am PST
Rep. Martin Frost (D-TX) interviewed by FOXNews gives this reaction on the Miers nomination:

“She’s very bright, very hard working … very capable.

She is, in fact, a steel magnolia. Anyone who tries to bully her — either on the left or the right — is going to have a fight.”

(Frost has known her professionally for 35 years)

The American Center for Law & Justice endorses:

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), specializing in constitutional law said today that Harriet Miers, the nominee named by President Bush for a seat on the Supreme Court of the United States, is an excellent choice who represents the conservative mainstream of judicial philosophy of interpreting the Constitution, not re-writing it.

“Once again, President Bush showed exceptional judgment in naming Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court to replace Justice O’Connor,” said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ, who argues regularly before the high court and has a pro-life protest case at the high court this term. “At a time when the high court is facing some of the most critical issues of the day – including a number of cases dealing directly with abortion and life issues – the person who replaces Justice O’Connor is critical. Harriet Miers is an excellent choice with an extraordinary record of service in the legal community and is certain to approach her work on the high court with a firm commitment to follow the Constitution and the rule of law. I have been privileged to work with her in her capacity as White House counsel. She is bright, thoughtful, and a consummate professional and I enthusiastically endorse her nomination.”

The Anchoress believes there’s more at work than meets the eye, and disagrees with “the hysterics coming from the right, today.”

We second the opinion. And remind our fellow conservatives: Don’t sh*t where you eat.

UPDATE: 9:49am PST

It’s remarkable. Reading across the blogosphere, the right has been quicker to accuse Bush of “cronyism” than our liberal opponents.

Is it an issue of self-righteousness? Piety? Sounds more like self-destruction.

Politics is a game. Let’s play it.

A Bill Kristol observes, “[Miers'] selection will unavoidably be judged as reflecting a combination of cronyism and capitulation on the part of the president.” Maybe so. And our party will have to deal with it.

But let’s not jump the gun.

UPDATE:
A Project of Progress America has a website up:
JusticeMiers.com

UPDATE II: Finally, someone…
Mark Noonan says, “Yes, the right pick”
Hugh Hewitt grades her a “B+”
Carol Platt Liebau describes Miers, “No wimp”

BlogsForBush reports Moveon.org is diggin’ for dirt

This entry was posted on Monday, October 3rd, 2005 at 8:03 am and is filed under Judiciary, Law, Liberals, W. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.