Bush defends Miers nomination, noting her religion
By Thomas Ferraro
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Washington (Reuters) - President George W. Bush said on
Wednesday that religion is part of Supreme Court nominee
Harriet Miers' life as he tried to counter complaints
that she may not be conservative enough and the White
House acknowledged two other potential candidates had
withdrawn.
After disclosure that several staff lawyers for
Republican senators had questioned Miers' credentials,
Bush again expressed confidence that she would win Senate
confirmation.
"She's going to make a great Supreme Court judge," Bush
said of Miers, now the White House counsel and Bush's
former personal lawyer.
"People are interested to know why I picked Harriet
Miers," Bush said. "They want to know Harriet Miers'
background, they want to know as much as they possibly
can before they form opinions. And part of Harriet Miers'
life is her religion."
The White House is scrambling to bolster support for
Miers amid calls from some conservatives that he withdraw
her nomination. Officials have noted that Miers is a
conservative Christian whose church opposes abortion to
try and quiet her critics.
But Democrats have said religion should not be a factor
when the Senate decides whether to confirm her and an
advocacy group blasted Bush for mentioning her religion.
"We're picking a Supreme Court justice here, not a Sunday
school teacher," said Barry Lynn of Americans United for
Separation of Church and State. "President Bush and his
allies should be talking about Miers' knowledge of the
Constitution, not the Bible."
Many conservatives are outraged that Bush picked a White
House insider with no judicial experience instead of a
judge with solid conservative credentials who could move
the high court to the right on such issues as abortion
and gay rights.
No Senate Republican or Democrat has voiced opposition to
Miers, but many have said they are anxious to hear what
she says at her confirmation hearing before the Senate
Judiciary Committee, expected next month.
The committee sent Miers a 12-page questionnaire as
senators seek to learn more about her in preparation for
the hearing. Among the questions was how Miers would
resolve potential conflicts of interest stemming from her
work as Bush's lawyer and her experience with
constitutional issues.
Senate Judiciary Committee staff were warned against
making critical comments about Miers after lawyers for
many Republican senators on the committee privately
voiced opposition.
"We're all in this together," the Judiciary Committee's
chief counsel, Michael O'Neill, wrote in an e-mail.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan confirmed what
conservative Christian leader James Dobson told his radio
program about an October 1 telephone conversation he had
had with Karl Rove, Bush's top political adviser, in
which Rove tried to convince Dobson to back Miers.
McClellan said Rove told Dobson that some potential
Supreme Court candidates "had said that they preferred
not to be considered" because they did not want "the
ordeal of going through the confirmation process."
McClellan said it was "just a couple" of candidates had
withdrawn and he did not identify them.
Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family and one of the few
conservative Christian leaders to endorse Miers, said
Rove told him Miers is "an evangelical Christian; that
she is from a very conservative church, which is almost
universally pro-life ..."
Bush nominated Miers to replace retiring Justice Sandra
Day O'Connor, a moderate conservative who was often a
swing vote on the closely divided court.
(Additional reporting by Steve Holland)
More at:
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