John's Blog

I was expecting steak, but what I got was more hamburger. This shouldn't be a surprise, since all we've been fed all along has been a bad grade of hamburger that's stayed out past it's expiration date. No, I'm not talking about groceries, but Dubyas' recent SCOTUS nomination. We got another stealth candidate who is likely to skate through the confirmation process.

But when I look at Miers I see a crony and a hack with no real qualifications. Nominating someone with no paper trail worked the last time, but the big difference is that Roberts brought something to the table in terms of intellect and credentials. Tons of reasons to oppose this nomination however, since she has no judicial experience and was previously Bush's personal lawyer. Having been part of the executive branch makes this seem way too incestuous than we should be comfortable with. I fear this is part of a strategy that really obscures W's real objectives, to have this nomination blocked so that he can portray Democrats as obstructionists, so he can make a follow-up appointment of a "real" conservative!

Do we really feel comfortable with appointing "a pit bull" with tremendous loyalty to the White House to a appointment that potentially blurs the separation of powers between the executive and judicial branches of government? "Knowing where the bodies are buried" isn't a qualification in my book. And making the statement that Bush is the most brilliant man she ever met suggests a serious lack of intellect on her part, or at the very least means she needs to get out more. I'm sure she'd do a "heck of a job".

There are many voices of moderation (which is a neighborhood I'm usually comfortable in) who suggest that this is an acceptable choice because "it could have been worse". I'm having a hard time accepting the logic in that, although I'll concede that it's probably the expedient way to go. But it just doesn't feel right. The consequences of a bad choice here will haunt us for years to come. Fight this one, or fight the inevitable worse choice? Great alternatives. Ironically, it's those on the right who are getting the most worked up over this, since they expected a more clear cut conservative. It's anyone's guess how this will all play out.

And thanks to G. D. Frogsdong at Blanton's and Ashton's for pointing out that some smartass started up Harriet Miers's Blog!!! ("The blog of the #1 smartest President ever's #1 pick to be the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court!"). At last, something funny about this!