Other than family, President George W. Bush may have been the only person to like Harriet Miers. Of course interest groups obsessed with overthrowing Roe v. Wade defended her, especially after all the guarantees of her pro-life credentials. But in truth the Miers nomination never had a chance.
Criticism mainly focused on Miers' qualifications. Her academic performance at Southern Methodist Law was impressive, but that does not make her Supreme Court material. She was Bush's private counsel, and her most famous writings were personal letters to Bush. Everyone's favorite, of course, was "You're the best governor ever!"
I do think there was more to Harriet Miers. She is an extremely bright woman with a high record of achievement, and her legal career certainly tops those of most lawyers. Had Miers continued the nomination process and gone before the Senate Judiciary Committee, maybe she could have revealed to the American people a top legal mind. Unfortunately for her, she did not do so, and history will forever remember her (or will it?) as a failed nominee.
With the departure of Miers, however, came a new opportunity for Bush (along with much rejoicing by conservatives who disliked her). Bush has already made two brilliant appointments this term: John Roberts as Chief Justice of the United States and Ben Bernanke as chair of the Federal Reserve. Now he has yet again made a great decision in nominating Judge Samuel Alito, Jr., to fill Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's seat.
Roberts is a tough act to follow, but unlike Miers, Alito by no means pales in comparison to the Chief Justice. He graduated from Princeton University and Yale Law School, where he was an editor for the Yale Law Journal-something that most certainly impresses Republican Senator Arlen Specter, who also edited that publication.
In announcing the nomination, Bush said, "Judge Alito is one of the most accomplished and respected judges in America" and "has more prior judicial experience than any Supreme Court nominee in more than 70 years." After an appellate court clerkship, Alito worked as a government attorney until he was appointed to the federal bench.
With this outstanding nominee before the Senate, it is appalling, but not surprising, that rumors of a Democratic filibuster have already begun. Senators Harry Reid, Ted Kennedy, Chuck Schumer and Joe Biden have probably planned their entire attack, with Alito's 15 years of judicial writings as their ammunition.
There was a time when judicial nominees did not even appear before the Senate. If the nominee's qualifications met the Senate's standards, then that person would receive an appointment. But now the Legislative and Executive Branches have fully recognized the power of the Supreme Court. Just look at any Court decision that has in effect made law. With so much potential in the Judicial Branch, it should be no surprise that the Senate has taken a more active method to "advise and consent."
The Democrats' recent obsession with filibustering judicial nominees, however, should make us realize that the Senate must return to a more traditional way of reviewing candidates for the bench. It should disgust any rational person that 22 senators voted against the nearly impeccable Roberts, while Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, perhaps even further to the left than Roberts is to the right, received only 3 negative votes. Those same senators who voted against Roberts will most likely aim to prevent Alito's passage with a filibuster.
Fortunately for the country's sake, the "gang of 14" will probably prevent that from happening. Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican and a member of that group, has already voiced his opposition to a filibuster on Alito. Furthermore, as far as we know, there is nothing in Alito's past worse than his conservatism, which Reid probably considers criminal anyway.
All Republicans should both support Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court and denounce the Democrats who already oppose it for purely political reasons. Extraordinary circumstances mean extraordinary circumstances, and there is nothing extraordinary about Alito's views. This is no case for a filibuster.
The Republicans should use Alito's nomination as an opportunity to expose the shallowness of Democratic senators. The traditions of the Senate provide for none of this partisan squabbling over judicial nominees, and Republicans need to rise above it when (or if) they are again in the minority.
Jamie Deal is a Trinity sophomore. His column runs every other Thursday.
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