DEMOCRACY:
Government & Politics | October 6, 2005
THE
TRUTH,
THE
(LESS
THAN)
WHOLE
TRUTH,
&
(ALMOST)
NOTHING
BUT
THE
TRUTH
ABOUT
HARRIET
MIERS
By
Douglas Drenkow, Editor of "Progressive
Thinking"
As
Posted in "GordonTalk",
"Comments
From Left Field", &
"OpEdNews"
The White House
does a great disservice to the nation by playing political games
with Supreme Court nominations.
No justice worth
his or her salt would make such weighty decisions on the basis
of such skimpy evidence. But
the White House indicates it is no more willing to release
"privileged" papers on the current nominee than on the
last, even though the Constitution gives the Senate standing
equal to that of the President in appointing a justice to the
Supreme Court.
As if it weren't
frustrating enough for senators and others on the
Left and the
Right to have so little information to go on about Supreme
Court nominee Harriet Miers -- who
gained and maintained the President's confidence as counsel over
the years by being at all times the epitome of discretion --
some of the most crucial information that is being published
about her one day is being contradicted the next!
To set the record
straight (and I admit to having previously
circulated a few reports from such respected sources as The
New York Times that have since been retracted in print) here --
as best as I can determine -- is some of what we do in fact know
about the enigmatic Ms. Miers.
Harriet Miers
in General
Harriet Miers was raised
a Catholic and a Democrat but as an adult became an evangelical
Christian (a "meek" "servant" of Jesus) and
a Republican.
Harriet Miers, in
responding to criticism that she was an ineffective
"loner" on the Dallas City Council, said, "I'd
like to say I'm not doctrinaire...But I don't much care what
people think."
Harriet Miers
on Women's Rights in General
Harriet Miers overcame
sexual discrimination to become a top attorney in Dallas and the
nation.
Harriet Miers
on Abortion Rights
Harriet Miers has
been an active member of an evangelical Christian church that is
very much opposed to abortion rights.
Harriet Miers told
the manager of her City Council race that she was not
"pro-choice".
Harriet Miers worked
to oppose or impede the American Bar Association from endorsing
abortion rights.
Harriet Miers has
as one of her closest friends, as her spiritual mentor, and as
her sometime lover a famously conservative justice on the Texas
Supreme Court, who indicates that Ms. Miers is
"pro-life", as evidenced by her church affiliation as
well as by the "pro-life" dinners they have attended
together.
Harriet Miers has
donated generously enough to an anti-abortion group affiliated
with Rep. Henry Hyde to be deemed a "bronze patron"
(contrary
to an earlier report, which stated she had donated to an
"abortion rights" group).
Harriet Miers may
or may not have discussed the abortion issue with George W. Bush
sometime over their many years together (contrary to widely
published reports that he claimed to not remember ever having
discussed the issue with her).
Harriet Miers
on Gay Rights
Harriet Miers has
been an active member of an evangelical Christian church that is
very much in favor the the traditional, "biblical"
view of marriage.
Harriet Miers supported
help for AIDS victims and supported civil rights in general for
gay people but opposed repealing the Texas law prohibiting
sodomy.
Harriet Miers
on Racial & Ethnic Minorities, & Police Power
Harriet Miers actively
worked with minority bar groups and actively helped raise money
for scholarships for minority students at the SMU law school.
Harriet Miers set
aside her initial opposition and (contrary
to earlier reports, as I had cited) supported
a power-sharing plan on the Dallas City Council that eventually
did give African Americans and Latinos more representation.
Harriet Miers on
the Dallas City Council apologized on behalf of the city to
black protestors who alleged that they were abused by police
officers, whose actions Ms. Miers termed "unprovoked and
inexcusable."
Harriet Miers
on Poverty
Harriet Miers has
been an active member of an evangelical Christian church that
does much work to help the homeless and that supports
missionaries in other, impoverished countries.
Harriet Miers has
done much pro bono legal work for the poor and has actively
encouraged other attorneys to do likewise, as in legal clinics
in impoverished communities.
Harriet Miers
on Business & Consumers
Harriet Miers earned
a reputation as an extremely effective attorney representing
banks, insurance companies, and such major corporations as
Microsoft and Disney in various lawsuits, which she usually
settled with as little publicity as possible.
Harriet Miers is
an outspoken advocate for "tort reform", protecting
corporations from lawsuits, as by consumers.
Harriet Miers was
president of a Texas law firm representing auto dealers accused
of taking billions of dollars in kickbacks, when then-Governor
Bush signed a law, unique in the nation, exempting the dealers
from such lawsuits.
Harriet Miers
& George W. Bush
Harriet Miers was
appointed by George W. Bush to the Texas Lottery Commission,
which was engulfed in scandals before and during her five-year
term.
Harriet Miers was
reportedly paid $19,000 to investigate the potential scandal of
Bush allegedly going AWOL from the National Guard during the
Vietnam War, which may or may not have involved paying off a key
witness.
Harriet Miers reportedly
coordinated legal strategy for the Florida recount in the 2000
Presidential Election.
Harriet Miers was
called by Bush "a pit bull in size six shoes."
Harriet Miers
reportedly called George W. Bush "the
most brilliant man I have ever met" and reportedly
considers him a "genius".
So how would
Justice Miers rule on the issues of the day? You be the judge.
Return to
Archive of DEMOCRACY: Government & Politics
Home
| Editor | Values
& Issues
| Feedback
| Legal | Links |