Heartland has misgivings over Miers

By Aussiegirl

So much for elitism. Contrary to administration cant, it's not just pointy-headed intellectuals and Ivy League snobs who are troubled by the Miers nomination -- misgivings are now spilling over into the heartland. This article is but one of many from small town newspapers voicing concern about the leap into the dark that conservatives are being asked to take on this crucial Supreme Court pick. Conservatives already swallowed hard and supported the unknown Roberts, who proved to at least possess a brilliant legal mind. What is still an open question is Roberts' judicial philosophy and his attitude towards many crucial issues which will face the court because he has left absolutely no paper trail of decisions or arguments. There are hints and every possibility that he may wind up somewhat to the left of retiring Chief Justice William Rhenquist, which makes the replacement of the swing vote of Sandra Day O'Connor with a solid conservative pick even more crucial. If both Roberts and Miers prove to be moderate centrists then the court may have just taken a swing towards the left rather than the right. The fact that a number of conservative heartland senators are voicing not only misgivings but openly voicing the possibility that they may vote no, says a great deal.

Kansas City Star | 10/09/2005 | Heartland misgivings over Miers

Last week’s conservative angst over President Bush’s pick of Harriet Miers for the Supreme Court spilled into Kansas and Missouri.

Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas led the parade. His lack of confidence in Miers made the top of the front page in Friday’s New York Times, including his response to the question of whether he was impressed with Miers.

“She’s a very decent lady,” he said after a pause.

In Missouri, state Sen. Matt Bartle chimed in, saying if he had a vote, it would now be a “no.”

“I definitely have concerns,” the Lee’s Summit Republican said.

On the Kansas side, Sen. Karin Brownlee, an Olathe Republican, borrowed an old Reagan line about the nominee. “We want to trust” Bush’s judgment, she said. “But we have to verify.”

And in this case, verification is the issue. There’s no way to ascertain where Miers stands. For conservatives, that’s the rub.

After years of hard-fought battles, this was supposed to be their moment to shape a Supreme Court that in their view has given the nation so many wrong-headed decisions.

Altering the Supreme Court has been the glue that held the movement together.

But the selection of Miers, preceded by the pick of John Roberts, leaves the court’s future course as murky as a London fog.

“What I want to know is why no one really knows what a 60-year-old person, who has been in the public eye for some time, really believes?” Ned Ryun, son of Jim Ryun, the conservative congressman from Kansas, declared on the Christian Worldview Network.

Bartle has a secondary fear. If Miers tanks in the eyes of conservatives, the movement will grow disillusioned.

“A disillusioned base can spell a low voter turnout,” he said. “And low voter turnout among the base is a frightening prospect” because the tide would begin to turn against a movement that has made powerful strides in an amazingly short time.