In today's Wall Street Journal, John Fund asks, "Did Christian conservatives receive assurances that Miers would oppose Roe v. Wade?" The question is asked rhetorically as his column details a conversation between evangelical leaders and friends of Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers.
Based on "detailed notes" taken during the meeting by an individual Fund does not reveal, "two of Ms. Miers's close friends--both sitting judges--said during the call that she would vote to overturn Roe." Here is how the conversation was described:
Then an unidentified voice asked the two men, "Based on your personal knowledge of her, if she had the opportunity, do you believe she would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade?"Fund doesn't directly assert that the White House was behind the assurances. Instead he writes:"Absolutely," said Judge Kinkeade.
"I agree with that," said Justice Hecht. "I concur."
The benign interpretation of the comments is that the two judges were speaking on behalf of themselves, not Ms. Miers or the White House, and they were therefore offering a prediction, not an assurance, about how she would come down on Roe v. Wade. But the people I interviewed who were on the call took the comments as an assurance, and at least one based his support for Ms. Miers on them.The implication, of course, is exactly opposite of Fund's "benign" scenario and is indirectly asserted by his use of comments from "people" interviewed who seemingly support it.
Either way, the information disclosed in Fund's column is of great interest to the Senate Judicial Committee because it is the first time Miers personal "pro-life" views, as represented second or third-hand, have been connected to decisions she may conceivably make. Fund writes,
Some participants in the Oct. 3 conference call fear that they will be called to testify at Ms. Miers's hearings. "If the call is as you describe it, an effort will be made to subpoena everyone on it," a Judiciary Committee staffer told me. It is possible that a tape or notes of the call are already in the hands of committee staffers. "Some people were on speaker phones allowing other people to listen in, and others could have been on extensions," one participant told me.Personally, I would welcome the news that Miers believes Roe v. Wade is bad law and that abortion is murder. However, I would prefer to hear it from the nominee and not her well intentioned friends (or pastor).
In addition, if the White House did play a role in providing backroom "assurances" to gain evangelical support, as Fund implies but does not prove, it will serve only to hurt Miers' and future conservative Supreme Court nominations.
Ironically, in all of this, Miers has been silent while the Bush administration has stumbled at almost every point, which is probably why they want a "Do-Over".
Others commenting on the WSJ Article: the Common Room, Info Theory, OpenBook (That "stealth nominee" thing may have backfired), ProEcclesia
More views on Miers' nomination:
- White House Wants A Do-Over On Miers - Captain's Quarters - If Rice goes on the offense for Miers, it will take some of the steam out of the anti-Miers momentum.
Hugh Hewitt writes, I Confess Everything I Don't Know About the Miers Nomination and remains supportive. Daisy Cutter is contra-Hugh.
Miers' Quick Mind and Her Closed-Minded Critics - Parableman - It seems rather impatient to be unwilling to wait for hearings before criticizing Bush's choice of her.
Cheney Interviewed by Hume: Harriet Miers - The Political Teen - the Vice President didn’t give any convincing reasons why she is qualified.
Harriet Miers: No Conservative at All - Reformed Catholicism - Listening to the White House's defense of the Miers nomination leaves me with the impression that the White House thinks that conservatives should be satifisfied with Miers simply because she is an evangelical.
Crash Course in Constitutional Law - Myopic Zeal - I am prepared to offer just such a course–for Miers and any would-be nominees among my readers ...
The Troubling Aspect of the Miers Nomination - Stones Cry Out - The fact that Ms. Miers is an evangelical Christian is irrelevant to the issue at hand ...
Update:
Harriet Miers 2.0 by Michelle Malkin:Remember that old phrase, "You never get a second chance to make a first impression?"Well, the Bush White House has tossed the truism out the window and is rebranding SCOTUS nominee Harriet Miers--now with less religious flavor and more judicial filling!
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