Harriet Miers

George Bush has nominated Harriet Miers for the Supreme Court. I have been watching the right wing rant and rave and think there are two groups ranting and two reasons for their dissatisfaction. The first are the guys like George Will who aren't happy because Miers never went to an Ivy League College and simply does not measure up to their intellectual elitist standards. They simply need to get over themselves and realize that smart people can attend other universities, sometimes even (gasp) public universities, and still accomplish outstanding things.

Then you have the nutjobs. Ann Coulter and Pat Buchanan and Rush Limbaugh and all the rest. I can only surmise that they have been betting on which of the right wing ideologes out there Bush was going to appoint and are mad that their betting pools are now defunct.

My biggest problem with Miers is found in one of Bush's common comments. He is always saying of her that "she will not change." I must ask, is she not open to new ideas or willing to consider new arguments? I don't care which side of the debate a potential justice is on, what I want is someone willing to listen and think about an issue before making up their mind. If one thinks that there is a need for ideologically pure justices, just look to Thomas and Ginsberg. There are two who have made up their so-called minds long before any argument is made. We don't need a third. I would prefer to see another O'Connor or Kennedy because they actually think about an issue before making up their minds. Wouldn't it nice to see a position like this held by someone who is both smart and thoughtful.