# Miers withdraws her Supreme Court nomination! **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 27, 2005, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miers-withdraws-her-supreme-court-nomination/328150 "2005-10-27T13:32:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miers-withdraws-her-supreme-court-nomination/328150/21 "2005-10-27T15:50:55Z")
> [@The Weird One](#): > > You would rather have a completely unqualified Justice whose beliefs are a mystery? Oh, except that she’s a religious fundamentalist. Yeah, that sounds good. Me? Hell, no. I’d like to see him make a non-partisan nomination-- someone like Mario Cuomo, with impeccable and well-articulated pro-life beliefs, who would separate his personal beliefs from his legal opinions–but that’s very naive of me. I think Bush’s idea of a centrist judge will be someone from the center of the Republican Party’s right wing. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miers-withdraws-her-supreme-court-nomination/328150/22 "2005-10-27T15:54:20Z")
> [@HPL](#): > > **Sal** , no offense, but what are you smoking? Can I have some? Hey, pal, you’ve just disqualified yourself for the Supreme Court right there! Anyway, we’ll see within a week or two whether I’m right or wrong. Gloating rights to to the winner! If it were up to me, I would nominate the SDMB’s very own **Bricker** – a smart guy, a lawyer, a Republican with crossover appeal, someone who knows and cares about the Constitution. And best of all, imagine the confirmation hearing: _Sen. Santorum (R-PA)_: Mr. Bricker, in your [post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6677321&postcount=353) to the Straight Dope Message Board of October 12, you used a certain coarse term for a disgusting sodomitical practice. Can you explain to America why you used this term not just once, but twice? Etc. ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miers-withdraws-her-supreme-court-nomination/328150/23 "2005-10-27T15:55:15Z")
I think it’s a good thing that Bush lost this fight. This was a healthy debate within the conservative ranks and after battling it out for a few weeks the right decision was made. Miers wasn’t qualified for the SCOTUS. It doesn’t matter how conservative she is. She wasn’t qualified and should never have been picked. It was arrogant of Bush to think that his personal atty would be acceptable for the court. I hope his next pick has experience and a long track record of constructionism. Janice Rogers Brown would be nice. A SCOTUS pick is worth fighting over. Bush didn’t understand that, and seemed to treat the whole issue as a nuisance that wasn’t worth making political waves. He was wrong. Most conservatives knew he was wrong and correctly called him out on it. The next pick better be good. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miers-withdraws-her-supreme-court-nomination/328150/24 "2005-10-27T16:07:06Z")
> [@saoirse](#): > > Left wing or right wing, she was unqualified for the position. The country is not served by having an unqualified candidate on the Supreme Court, no matter how closely that person’s ideology tracks to your own. > > Besides, she already had conservative leanings, and little experience with the kind of debate she would encounter on the court. Confirming her would have been tantamount to giving Scalia a third vote. I couldn’t agree more. This nomination was bad for the simple reason she was unqualified. While I fear a more conservative nomination, I am hopeful it gets defeated also. ---
**Author:** ![Malodorous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47774/32.png) [@Malodorous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malodorous)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miers-withdraws-her-supreme-court-nomination/328150/25 "2005-10-27T16:09:33Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > I hope his next pick has experience and a long track record of constructionism. Janice Rogers Brown would be nice. A SCOTUS pick is worth fighting over. Bush didn’t understand that, and seemed to treat the whole issue as a nuisance that wasn’t worth making political waves. He was wrong. Most conservatives knew he was wrong and correctly called him out on it. The next pick better be good. It’s debatable what direction Bush will go in for his next pick. I don’t think it will be a confirmed conservative with a paper trail like Brown though. Even before his approval numbers were in the dumpers (I heard they were below 40 on some polls, is that right!?) Bush didn’t want to do this, either because he thinks it will hurt his party in the long run or because he deep down doesn’t want a social conservative on the bench. ---
**Author:** ![aahala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@aahala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aahala)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miers-withdraws-her-supreme-court-nomination/328150/26 "2005-10-27T16:13:35Z")
The timing surprised me, not the result. I am perplexed how this all happened. I would think it’s pretty standard operating procedure that a president passes a short list of potential nominees to a few senators of his own party, just to see if any don’t pass the laugh test. Bush apparently didn’t do this, and I haven’t a clue why he didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Malodorous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47774/32.png) [@Malodorous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malodorous)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miers-withdraws-her-supreme-court-nomination/328150/27 "2005-10-27T16:19:34Z")
Heh, just read [Meier’s withdrawl letter](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/27/AR2005102700680.html). She apparently is withdrawing because she’s afraid “I would be expected to testify about my service in the White House to demonstrate my experience and judicial philosophy”. :rolleyes: I guess they figured “needed to spend time with my family” has already been overused. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miers-withdraws-her-supreme-court-nomination/328150/28 "2005-10-27T16:20:06Z")
> [@Malodorous](#): > > Bush didn’t want to do this, either because he thinks it will hurt his party in the long run or because he deep down doesn’t want a social conservative on the bench. Bush, or the powers behind the throne (depending on whether or not one believes the sock-puppet theory of this administration) certainly don’t want to tip the court to the point where _Roe_ actually gets overturned – if that happened, Republican politicians would have to actually **do** something about the issue and thereby (in most regions) mortally offend a major chunk of their voting base. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miers-withdraws-her-supreme-court-nomination/328150/29 "2005-10-27T16:21:39Z")
> [@Malodorous](#): > > Bush didn’t want to do this, either because he thinks it will hurt his party in the long run or because he deep down doesn’t want a social conservative on the bench. I think he’s much more interested in rewarding his friends than putting a conservative on the bench. How many actions has he really taken to benefit the social conservatives? It seems like there’s been a lot of lip-service, but not much doing. ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miers-withdraws-her-supreme-court-nomination/328150/30 "2005-10-27T16:41:32Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by **Debaser** :_ > Miers wasn’t qualified for the SCOTUS. It doesn’t matter how conservative she is. She wasn’t qualified and should never have been picked. It was arrogant of Bush to think that his personal atty would be acceptable for the court. I couldn’t agree more. I don’t fear (yet) and even more conservative nominee. I simply expect the next nominee to be, oh, I don’t know, qualified for the position. Whether or not that person is deeply conservative will be important, yes, but more important is that person’s ability to separate personal beliefs from the review and application of law. Miers could not prove that she had the experience or background to do so. ---
**Author:** ![brownie55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f14d63/32.png) [@brownie55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brownie55)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miers-withdraws-her-supreme-court-nomination/328150/31 "2005-10-27T16:47:22Z")
> [@Malodorous](#): > > Heh, just read [Meier’s withdrawl letter](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/27/AR2005102700680.html). She apparently is withdrawing because she’s afraid “I would be expected to testify about my service in the White House to demonstrate my experience and judicial philosophy”. :rolleyes: > > I guess they figured “needed to spend time with my family” has already been overused. Just like [Charles Krauthammer](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/20/AR2005102001635.html) said last Friday. Think it was leaked? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miers-withdraws-her-supreme-court-nomination/328150/32 "2005-10-27T16:57:07Z")
> [@brownie55](#): > > Just like [Charles Krauthammer](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/20/AR2005102001635.html) said last Friday. Think it was leaked? More likely the other way around. Miers: How do I extract myself from this embarrassing nightmare? [Reads CK’s opinion piece.] Hmmmmmm. I like it!! ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miers-withdraws-her-supreme-court-nomination/328150/33 "2005-10-27T16:57:29Z")
So did Bill Kristol on url=“[http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/the\_daily\_show/videos/most\_recent/index.jhtml](http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/the_daily_show/videos/most_recent/index.jhtml)”]The Daily Show earlier this week, **brownie55**. I don’t think it’s a leak, just a logical extrapolation from what was known at the time. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miers-withdraws-her-supreme-court-nomination/328150/34 "2005-10-27T16:58:50Z")
I wonder if she’ll still be in charge of selecting the next nominee… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miers-withdraws-her-supreme-court-nomination/328150/35 "2005-10-27T17:00:40Z")
Oops – [fixed Daily Show link](http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/the_daily_show/videos/most_recent/index.jhtml) ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miers-withdraws-her-supreme-court-nomination/328150/36 "2005-10-27T17:01:04Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > More likely the other way around. > > Miers: How do I extract myself from this embarrassing nightmare? [Reads CK’s opinion piece.] Hmmmmmm. I like it!! Probably. That’s a white lie, though. It’s like saying you have plans rather than saying you don’t want to spend time with someone. It’s a lie to save face. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miers-withdraws-her-supreme-court-nomination/328150/37 "2005-10-27T17:03:45Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Now all we need today is an indictment of Karl Rove! You folks are going to be disappointed when Rove is indicted for his testimony but not the underlying “crime” … and not “frog-marched” out of the White House. Bush will stick with him and argue that he is not going to ruin someon’e career for not saying “I don’t recall” as believably as Hillary did. ---
**Author:** ![uglybeech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/82dd89/32.png) [@uglybeech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uglybeech)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miers-withdraws-her-supreme-court-nomination/328150/38 "2005-10-27T17:08:38Z")
I think one reason she withdrew now was because it was becoming obvious that her hearings would end up being about the administration’s use of torture. The president just doesn’t need another platform to launch that discussion. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miers-withdraws-her-supreme-court-nomination/328150/39 "2005-10-27T17:26:17Z")
> [@](#): > > You folks are going to be disappointed when Rove is indicted for his testimony but not the underlying “crime” … and not “frog-marched” out of the White House. > > Bush will stick with him and argue that he is not going to ruin someon’e career for not saying “I don’t recall” as believably as Hillary did. If I were Karl Rove, I’d be worried about the recent precedents of Michael Brown and Harriet Miers. It shows that the President will drop somebody if the situation gets too hot. But I do agree that Bush will continue to use the “Clinton did it first” line as long as some people think it means anything. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miers-withdraws-her-supreme-court-nomination/328150/40 "2005-10-27T17:28:43Z")
> [@What the .... ?!?!](#): > > You folks are going to be disappointed when Rove is indicted for his testimony but not the underlying “crime” … and not “frog-marched” out of the White House. > > Bush will stick with him and argue that he is not going to ruin someon’e career for not saying “I don’t recall” as believably as Hillary did. I won’t be disappointed at all. As the Republicans liked to say during the Clinton leak (on a dress) investigation, perjury is a very serious matter. If indicted, Rove will not be able to continue his job without becoming quite damaging to Bush. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miers-withdraws-her-supreme-court-nomination/328150.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miers-withdraws-her-supreme-court-nomination/328150.md?page=3)