ConfirmThem

By Carol Platt Liebau Posted in Analysis and Predictions — Comments () / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Some people, quite understandably, have objected to the President, in effect, telling everyone to "trust him" that Harriet Mier won't legislate from the bench.

But in fairness, I hope that everyone who is denouncing her has personally read the work and are intimately acquainted with the life histories of Luttig, Alito, McConnell and all the rest of the judges that we were hoping for. Because if they haven't, they are instead just relying on the conservative opinion leaders whom we all respect, who have assured us that they're the "best" choices.

And if that's the case, then it's just a matter of conservatives deciding whom (President Bush or the conservatives opposed to his choice) they will trust on this nomination. On the one hand, President Bush (and VP Cheney) are assuring people that her judicial philosophy is consistent with theirs. On the other are a lot of disappointed people saying, "But how do we know that?" and pointing to statements or writings from candidates they would have preferred more.

Well, we don't know. And it's unsettling, to be sure. But it's worth remembering that no one -- no one -- can predict with absolute certainty how any nominee will vote once he/she is on the bench. While his/her existing body of work provides hints and clues, nothing says that the views can't or won't change. And as to that, all we have are the assurances of well-placed conservative opinion leaders who "know" the potential nominees, just as President Bush and VP Cheney say they "know" Harriet Miers.

Finally, Harriet Miers' statements and behavior may yet provide some rationale for the outrage her nomination has elicited, but at least it seems she doesn't display the intellectual vanity and showboating tendencies that lead to judges who attempt to forge a "juriprudential legacy" rather than simply following the law and the Constitution.