What To Do About Miers

October 18 2005
Counterbias.com
by Ted Baiamonte
R E P U B L I C A N   V I E W
 

For those not familiar with the issue, here is a very brief summary: Real Jeffersonian Republican conservatives want a smaller federal government. A government more like the one our Framers gave us with the Constitution, such that power would reside more in the hands of the people and their elected representative rather than in the hands of a nine-person, appointed for life, super-legislature, i.e., The Supreme Court.

Abortion, for example, would be decided by the people through their individual State governments rather than by nine liberal dictators in Washington. Democrats are opposed to this most basic of American principles because they are not smart enough to understand the value of freedom from government. And so, subverting the meaningless (as they see it) Constitution by using the Supreme Court as a super-legislature with which to enact their perceptual, random, liberal agenda, is very acceptable.

It goes without saying that for most Republicans, the Miers nomination appears to be a huge mistake. The first major problem is that Miers was a Democrat until at least 1988. That alone is enough to cause major heart attacks among Republicans. My God! She became a Republican, seemingly, as her career became associated with Bush and the Republicans in Texas, rather than for ideological reasons. Her career is about her career, not about ideology, while the Supreme Court is only about ideology. How can she possibly be trusted?

Second, even if she is now and remains an ideological Republican long after Bush has left Washington (something about which no one can be at all comfortable given the opportunistic nature of her conversion), those who know her and those who look through her career see primarily a career oriented person. They do not see someone who will bravely stand up for Republican ideals against forceful liberals on and off the Court. More committed Republican Justices than her have folded in the past under the liberal professional and social pressure she will face in Washington.

Here is what the Los Angeles Times reported about Miers' malleable political philosophy:

A prominent Dallas Democrat, former state Rep. Steven D. Wolens, said Miers was never known as a party activist on either side. "I don't remember her being of any party until Bush made her a celebrity when he became governor," he said. "When she was on the City Council, we had no reason to think of her as being either a Republican or a Democrat." The Dallas City Council, on which Miers served one term from 1989 to 1991, is officially nonpartisan.

The Supreme Court is a wonderful bully pulpit where logical, well written, very ideological decisions are read for eternity by Constitutional scholars and Constitutional law students who in theory may be open to a logic they have not seen or fully considered anywhere else. It is apparent that Miers has absolutely no Constitutional experience and not one discernible Constitutional opinion despite a 35 year career in law. With Miers, this once in a lifetime opportunity to have a brilliant, forceful Republican ideologue on the Court is lost. Come on! The Republicans have a 55-seat majority on the Senate -- there may never be a better time to appoint another Scalia or Thomas to the Court.

The only hope is for Republicans to unite to urge Bush and Miers to withdraw the nomination. You hear many Republican screaming frenetically about the nomination but not proposing a strategy? Why are they wasting their breath? If Republicans united against Bush he would have to balance the embarrassment of withdrawing his nomination against the loss of the ideological base of his party. As a lame duck President, hopefully he would make the right choice which might well reflect positively on the Party for decades to come.

It was one thing to support Bush on an ever expanding liberal Federal Budget, but now he is asking us to roll over on the social issues, too. They at least should have been sacrosanct. Enough is enough!

If the nomination gets to a vote in the Senate, at least some Republicans will vote for her. Most of the Democrats will vote for her too, no matter how well or how badly she does from here forward, knowing that a rejection would most likely result in the nomination of someone in the saintly mold of Scalia. Asking Bush and Miers to find the courage to withdraw the nomination now, is the only option.

Ted Baiamonte is author of "Understanding the Difference Between Democrats and Republicans". His blog is The Dumb Democrat, and he can be reached at bje1000@aol.com.