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Reactions to Harriet Miers' Withdrawal

By Jeralyn, Section Harriet Miers
Posted on Thu Oct 27, 2005 at 09:17:37 AM EST
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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has issued this statement (received by e-mail) on Harriet Miers' withdrawal as Supreme Court nominee. I agree with him.

“The radical right wing of the Republican Party killed the Harriet Miers nomination. Apparently, Ms. Miers did not satisfy those who want to pack the Supreme Court with rigid ideologues.

“I had recommended that the President consider nominating Ms. Miers because I was impressed with her record of achievement as the managing partner of a major Texas law firm and the first woman president of the Texas Bar Association. In those roles she was a strong supporter of law firm diversity policies and a leader in promoting legal services for the poor. But these credentials are not good enough for the right wing: they want a nominee with a proven record of supporting their skewed goals.

“In choosing a replacement for Ms. Miers, President Bush should not reward the bad behavior of his right wing base. He should reject the demands of a few extremists and choose a justice who will protect the constitutional rights of all Americans.”

My pick: Draft Prado.

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    Reactions to Harriet Miers' Withdrawal | 17 comments (17 topical)
    Re: Reactions to Harriet Miers' Withdrawal (none / 0) (#1)
    by Dadler on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:27 PM EST
    I understand the notion of the lesser of two evils, we all do. But I think we can get a better lesser. If the Dem leaders use the momemtum they have to speak up and frame the debate: this admin. can't be trusted, Iraq, outing CIA agents, inflation, ignoring national tragedies, energy bills written by their indicted buddies... Bush cannot win this fight if the Dems do their jobs. Will they? That's the real question. Could be they're worried more about their own poll numbers than doing what they know is right and necessary. We will see.

    Re: Reactions to Harriet Miers' Withdrawal (none / 0) (#2)
    by glanton on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:27 PM EST
    Rest easy, I have no doubt it will be someone even nuttier than Miers, which is saying a helluva lot. Perhaps we'll get really lucky and it will be someone who wants to overturn _Griswold_, since every community in America 2005 should have the Flying Spaghetti Monster-Given right to ban contraceptives if it goes against the prevailing superstition. BTW: I wonder if states' rights would have covered what happened in Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery"? Oh, sorry trolls--I forgot you don't read literature. Oh, and I almost forgot, we need to overturn _Roe_, too, as it gives way too much rope to the "fillies," not to mention its violation of the prevailing superstitions. And by all means, let us vindicate Matthew Shepard's Wyoming redneck murderers by overturning _Lawrence v Texas_. After that's all done, we can set our sights on doing something about all these damned foreigners and the degradation of our English speaking halo-bearing culture. Indeed, if English was good enough for Jesus, it's certainly good enough for Alabama.

    Re: Reactions to Harriet Miers' Withdrawal (none / 0) (#3)
    by Dadler on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:27 PM EST
    Hell, the Dems oughtta just come out with their own nominee and sell that person hard, even if just to hilight what a great nominee looks AND sounds like. A little goddamn imagination, a pre-emptory SOMETHING is what we need. Not just this useless hand-wringing and speculating about how bad the next nominee might be.

    Re: Reactions to Harriet Miers' Withdrawal (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:27 PM EST
    Dadler:
    ... the Dems oughtta just come out with their own nominee and sell that person hard
    Somehow I can't see the Dems promoting a known Repub candidate, and anyway, wouldn't that automatically remove their choice from consideration by the Repubs? Can you imagine the reaction of their base if they were to support a candidate who was initially advocated by the opposition?! Or maybe, to counter my objection, all your proposed "selling" has to be done behind closed doors, so the public never gets to hear about it? In which case, how do you know that's not happening already?

    Re: Reactions to Harriet Miers' Withdrawal (none / 0) (#5)
    by Pete Guither on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:27 PM EST
    Hmm, maybe the Dems should try the Briar Patch routine... 'Oh, whatever you do, don't give us Prado!"

    Re: Reactions to Harriet Miers' Withdrawal (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:27 PM EST
    I think Harriet got sacrificed because Karl wouldn't (couldn't) make a deal...and losing her and him would have been the last straw--Bush would have to bring back Karen from saving the middle east

    Re: Reactions to Harriet Miers' Withdrawal (none / 0) (#7)
    by Dadler on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:27 PM EST
    Cymro, I meant they should put forward, with a thunderous marketing approach, THEIR OWN NOMINEE. Not a republican, not necessarily a democrat either... but simply a candidate that is NOT some right-wing lackey. A real candidate, someone with the qualifications, intellect and character to make any predictable Bush nominee look even worse than they are for the country.

    Re: Reactions to Harriet Miers' Withdrawal (none / 0) (#8)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:27 PM EST
    I'm so furious at Sandra Day O'Connor I could just spit. She "retires" to take care of her personal life and now has taken a job as chancellor of an eastern university. She's left us with a despot to pack the SCOTUS. Someone please educate me as to why she is not letting her country down at a critical time in our history? Bush must find another Roberts. Someone who had no participation in any decisions involving a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy.

    Re: Reactions to Harriet Miers' Withdrawal (none / 0) (#9)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:27 PM EST
    Not that I have any intereset in defending her, but... "On October 4, 2005, President Gene Nichol of the College of William and Mary announced that O'Connor had accepted the ceremonial role of becoming the 23rd Chancellor of the College, replacing Henry Kissinger, and following in the position held by Margaret Thatcher, Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, and President George Washington."

    Re: Reactions to Harriet Miers' Withdrawal (none / 0) (#10)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:27 PM EST
    I meant (the Dems) should put forward, with a thunderous marketing approach, THEIR OWN NOMINEE.
    As far as I am aware, only W can actually NOMINATE a candidate for the SCOTUS. Others can only campaign (publicly or privately) for their preferred choice for that nomination. So I think your proposal really amounts to the Dems conducting a thunderous PR exercise, using the SC nomination as a vehicle to promote the message: "If our party held the reins of power, we would pick better qualified people to run the country". Given the recent setbacks to so many of W's hand-picked execs, that message could surely resonate with some of the elecorate these days.

    Re: Reactions to Harriet Miers' Withdrawal (none / 0) (#11)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:27 PM EST
    Posted by Che's Lounge: "I'm so furious at Sandra Day O'Connor I could just spit." O'Conner signed onto Bush v. Gore, so she betrayed her country long ago, Che. She's the Judas Miller of the SCOTUS. A crony from Bush's own office is not acceptable. As for 'president,' Bush is PINO. Without impeachment rights there is no SCOTUS. It's a circus performance with real wild animals.

    Re: Reactions to Harriet Miers' Withdrawal (none / 0) (#12)
    by jimcee on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:27 PM EST
    Yeah the Dems ought to promote thier Leftist gapeseed by introducing thier own nominee except there is that small question of that Constituional thingy. Bush will now nominate a constructionist for the Supremes, the Dems and the Left will sqeal and the American people won't care either way as they have already become bored by three weeks of this boring crap. The Dems will filibuster, the Republicans will change the proceedure and eliminate it and Bush will get his appointment. Mohammed Ali called it the ropa-dopa but obviously there are not many boxing fans over here at TL.

    Re: Reactions to Harriet Miers' Withdrawal (none / 0) (#13)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:27 PM EST
    i havent seen any dem stand up for anything of late with exception of ny senator name escapes me. unusually quiet. perhaps they knew miers would implode. i think the next nominee will be 'nuke time' for filibuster. further, if fitzmas has indictments why hasnt anyone quit BEFORE they come down and embarrasses bush? unless these (god i cant call them what i want) 'people' intend to fight the charges without resigning or there are no charges or fitz extends his investigation by another 6 months which he is allowed to do..

    Re: Reactions to Harriet Miers' Withdrawal (none / 0) (#14)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:27 PM EST
    EXCUUUUUUUSE ME...... ...Harry Reid is claiming that HE recommended that Bush consider nominating Meirs?????????? Oh please...I'm dying with laughter....

    Re: Reactions to Harriet Miers' Withdrawal (none / 0) (#15)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:28 PM EST
    The nomination was a total embarassment. Why shouldn't Reid take credit? Bush certainly can't. Georgie did it to see if he could get people to salute his arse any more. They didn't. His smirks don't reach around the giant hole in his brain that he has displayed to the world. Ronald Reagan at his worst wasn't a dry drunk who drank his neurons away. Maybe stemcell research could help alcoholics recover from their disease. But Georgie did a helluva job on that, didn't he.

    Re: Reactions to Harriet Miers' Withdrawal (none / 0) (#16)
    by kipling on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:28 PM EST
    I don't know if Pat Oliphaunt's cartoon came out before or after Reid's statement, but anyway it's funny, and, like the best comics/comedians, it's so true. It really is an odd age when the comics tell the truth more clearly than the press. Or has it always been so?

    Re: Reactions to Harriet Miers' Withdrawal (none / 0) (#17)
    by roger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:28 PM EST
    Before Bush v. Gore was decided, Sandra Day's husband told the media that she wanted to be replaced by a Repub. This should be no suprise.

    Reactions to Harriet Miers' Withdrawal | 17 comments (17 topical)