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I admit to having previously circulated a few reports from such respected sources as The New York Times that have since been retracted in print) here -- as best as I can determine -- is some of what we do in fact know about the enigmatic Ms.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 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).
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