Josh's Weblog: I oppose the Miers nomination

I oppose the Miers nomination

Prompted by Ann Althouse, I am throwing my hat into the ring on Miers. The Truth Laid Bear is prompting bloggers to take a stand on this Supreme Court nominee.

I oppose the Miers nomination.

In my opinion, the nomination of Miers to the Supreme Court was poorly planned and handled, and that the nominee, while intelligent and respectable, is not the kind of person I wanting deciding fundamental matters of law in the highest court of the land. I have not seen demonstrated that she is an extraordinary jurist, like John Roberts ably did before his confirmation hearings. Instead, I have mostly heard about her religious beliefs and her path from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party. These two items mean very little to me.

What we were promised was another Scalia. I would have been more happy with a re-nomination of Judge Bork over Miers. That would have been amusing, at least. There are plenty of other women jurists I would have preferred to see over Miers, as well. Ann Althouse seems to have a good head on her shoulders. Ann Coulter would be amusing just to see what would happen in the confirmation hearings. Etc. etc.

As I aluded to in my previous post, I do want to see someone that reads the Constitution with an understanding of its clear meaning. Sure, this must be tempered with law and history and precedent and some thought about consequences, but I want to see a river of argument that flows from this source to a predictible destination. Roberts was a joy to listen to and read. He made clear arguments. He understood the meaning of the words he used. He understood the implications of the laws he interpreted.

So, if Miers were to provide some demonstration of this ability, perhaps I can mellow. Right now, however, I have seen too little to support her.

Josh Poulson

Posted Saturday, Oct 22 2005 01:06 PM