Miers -- a mystery wrapped in an enigma

By Aussiegirl

Harriet Miers has apparently never made her views known in her entire 60 years on this planet -- except in confidence to George Bush, it seems. Is there any way that she can be even evaluated as a candidate?

The Miers Nomination: Avoiding Advice and Consent: Newsroom: The Independent Institute: "These pluses aside, there are major issues with the Miers nomination -- specifically, her lack writing or speaking on the major legal issues of our time. Other than a couple of short articles in the Texas Lawyer magazine and a speech at the Pepperdine University, there is no record of her views or opinions. She has written no books, law review articles, books reviews, or editorial columns. One wonders whether she has even written a postcard. With no hard evidence of the nominee's judicial philosophy or intellect, the Administration simply asks the people to trust its judgment on the Miers nomination.

Miers' lack of a written record can only be attributed to some combination of the following: (1) she lacks the intellectual heft to participate in debate over constitutional issues, (2) she does not care, or (3) she has carefully avoided stepping into the fray in order to advance her career. Any one of the reasons is sufficient to disqualify her from consideration.

Under the Constitution, the Senate must give its advice and consent before approving a nomination to the Supreme Court. Other than impeachment, "advice and consent" is the only constitutional check the people's representatives have on judicial appointments. With Miers' failure to apply pen to paper and the nominees' usual refusal to provide meaningful answers during confirmation hearings, the senators will have little on which to base an affirmative vote for Miers.

It is incumbent on the President to nominate individuals who can be evaluated. Stealth candidates such as Miers are but improper attempts to evade the Constitution's advice and consent requirement. Unless Miers quickly provides some hard evidence of her legal philosophy and opinions, the Senate will be compelled to exercise it.