October 21, 2005

Defending Miers to Webloggers

The RNC organized a conference call of webloggers hosted by RNC Communications Director Jim Dyke and former Texas Supreme Court Justice Craig Enoch defending Harriet Miers. From reading Mark Coffey's account I'm not swayed. Agnostic I'll remain. The problem is anecdotal accounts don't cut it for me. President Bush wants conservatives to trust him that Miers will be a justice in the Scalia/Thomas mold. We have to trust Bush's judgement without reading or hearing much from the nominee herself. I don't trust Bush on this. I trust Craig Enoch even less. I know nothing about the man. How much did he work with Miers professionally? I don't know. All I know is he told webloggers (using Coffey's words), "Miers understands the roles of judges in a way that is compatible with a conservative approach (i.e., not an activist, legislative bench)." No support except his memory.

What would I need to get off my cautious fence? I would like to see some papers, essays, lecture notes, speeches, or something that illustrates her constitutional thinking. The White House has had 18 days to produce something. To say I'm disappointed is an understatement. This doesn't means only a law professor or judge would meet my criteria. Getting into top-notch law reviews isn't what I'm expecting. I just want evidence that Miers has thought about constitutional issues deeply and can explicate a conservative judicial philosophy.

"Blogger Conference Call: Craig Enoch and Jim Dyke"