Miers Can Continue Working for Mister Smartypants
I first mentioned the opposition to Harriet Miers in my post "Further Proof That George W Bush is a Communist," which documented significant conservative opposition to the Miers nomination.
I never got around to mentioning Dianne Feinstein's comments:
Sen. Dianne Feinstein met privately with Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers on Monday, emerging to describe Miers as unusually soft-spoken and to defend her against what the senator has called sexist attacks....
Feinstein, D-Calif., is the only woman on the Senate Judiciary Committee that will hold hearings and vote on whether to send Miers' nomination to the full Senate....
During a CNN interview Sunday, Feinstein said the criticism of Miers by conservatives was “sexist,” adding, “I do not believe they would do that to a man.”
Asked Monday about the sexism issue Feinstein said: “This is a woman, after all, who's been head of a very large bar association in a large state and the head of a large corporate law practice, and worked in positions of trust for the president of the United States, and I think she should be treated with due deference.”
Feinstein, 72, also said she felt sympathy for Miers, 60, because the two had similar personal experiences as women seeking to advance in the mid-20th century.
“I think people don't remember the ‘50s and even the ‘60s to some extent, but particularly in the ‘50s, when it was really women need not apply, a man was worth much more,” Feinstein said....
Yet as of today, Feinstein's statement on Miers' withdrawal had a very different tone:
Statement of Senator Feinstein on Harriet Miers
October 27, 2005
“The White House today announced the withdrawal of the nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court. While I had not taken a position on this nomination and maintained an open mind, there were serious questions especially concerning her independence from the White House. History shows that no President has ever nominated one of his staff members to the Supreme Court.
I call on the President to name a nominee in the mainstream of American jurisprudence, who can help bring this nation together and demonstrate a scrupulous knowledge of the law and a judicial temperament that enables support by both sides of the political aisle.
I would urge the President to take his time in naming a new nominee. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor has agreed to continue to serve and much more important is the quality of the nominee rather than the immediacy of the appointment.”
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So how will Feinstein react if Bush presents a nominee "in the mainstream of American jurisprudence"...who happens to be male?
P.S. If Kennedy had lived, and if there had been a Supreme Court opening, would he have tried to nominate Bobby? Hard to say - Bobby was more useful to him in the executive branch.
P.P.S. I've also been musing about people who serve in two of the three branches of the Federal Government. It's common to see Congresspersons who become President (the last being George H. W. Bush), but you have the rare cases of ex-Presidents serving in the other branches (most notably John Quincy Adams and William Howard Taft; also, Andrew Johnson may or may not have returned to Congress; need to research).
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