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October 13, 2005
Thumbs down on Miers
I'm afraid I'm going to have to give Miers the thumbs-down on her nomination to the Supreme Court. It's not that she's too conservative or that she's not conservative enough, because frankly, no one's really sure where she is politically or even on her judicial philosophy, except presumably President Bush. It's possible that her judicial philosophy matches mine 100%, but even if I knew that to be true, I'd still have to say "no thanks" to her nomination.
It really comes down to the fact that she's never been a judge before. Nominating a non-judge first came up in June when high-ranking Senators (both Republican and Democrat) suggested the idea to President Bush, in hopes of bringing "more diverse perspectives" to the Supreme Court. Diversity is all well and good, but in my opinion, experience trumps diversity. Lack of experience is not a desired perspective, diverse or not. I was pleased that he ignored that advice when nominating Roberts, but it seems like he gave in the second time around.
Now, Harriet Miers has a long and distinguished career in law and has even argued cases in constitutional law, but I believe there is a distinct difference between arguing for a position and being the one to decide which position is more in keeping with the law. I'm sure she's adjudicated a few mock trials, but that’s no substitute for being the man (or woman) behind the bench when real lives or livelihoods are on the line.
If I may be permitted a sports analogy, we’ll take a detour into football. It’s the Super Bowl, and you’re coaching your team against a tough opponent. It’s the fourth quarter, and you’re down by four points, deep in your own territory. A player comes to you and begs to be put in as the new running back. He’s been practicing with the rest of the team for years, and he knows the playbook backwards and forwards. He even helps with some of the play calling. But... he’s never actually played in a game. He’s done great on the practice squad, and you know he’s in top physical condition, but he’s never had to carry the ball through a defensive line that’s just as committed to winning as he is. Meanwhile, you have four veteran running backs ready to go. Do you send in the new guy? Of course not! (Note: Ernie Zampese might, but we won’t go into that here.)
I don’t mean this as a personal insult to Ms. Miers in any way. She could turn out to the greatest judge since Thurgood Marshall, but the Supreme Court is not the place to get that first impression. If she is as good as many suggest, then she should have been nominated for one of the many open slots in the various appeals courts. A few years later, fate might smile upon her with a shot at the Supreme Court. At least then she could point to a body of rulings to say, “Yes, I know how to judge.”
But now... we just don’t know if she has what it takes to play in the biggest legal league around. I know the new guy can run the 40 in 3.8 seconds, but sorry Coach, you made the wrong call.
Politics by Dan at October 13, 2005 09:59 PM
Comments
Zampese also wasn't in a job he'd be able to hold for the rest of his life. (I found references to him being associated with 3 or 4 teams in the past 10 years....) At least you can let Zampese go if he doesn't make the right calls. With a Supreme Court position, they can't fire you unless you do something really, really, really bad, and incompetence doesn't count.
Posted by: Julia at October 13, 2005 11:35 PM
I agree with you 100%. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court ought to at least have been a Justice before.
Posted by: hdan at October 14, 2005 08:54 AM
Though to be clear, she's not being nominated for Chief Justice, just Associate Justice. I still think that should require prior judge experience, but just pointing that out. (It's also why I chose running back rather than quarterback for my football analogy.)
Posted by: Dan at October 14, 2005 09:17 AM
Doh, I know that. I just haven't had enough caffein (or maybe too much). I still agree.
Posted by: hdan at October 14, 2005 12:37 PM
Ernie Zampese=George Bush?
Wow, there's a comparison I never expected...
Posted by: Tim at October 17, 2005 12:03 PM