Who is Harriet Miers? Part 15

James Taranto has established a Miers Nomination Death Watch. Sadly, the Miers legacy will live on for generations, regardless of the outcome of this kerfuffle.


The Los Angeles Times reports "many constitutional experts" are "shaking their heads" over a written answer Miers gave the Senate Judiciary Committee: "Miers described her service on the Dallas City Council in 1989. When the city was sued on allegations that it violated the Voting Rights Act, she said, 'the council had to be sure to comply with the proportional representation requirement of the Equal Protection Clause.' " Even Andrew Sullivan knows there is no such thing.

That's a perfect reason not to vote for her, Senator.

The Washington Post reports that under Miers's leadership, the Texas Bar Association "embraced racial and gender set-asides and set numerical targets to achieve that goal." This may raise the hackles of people who believe in equality--though in fairness we should note that this sort of discrimination is so commonplace in the private sector that it may be unfair to infer anything about Miers's personal or legal beliefs here.

Another, Senatrix.

Today's Washington Post reports that the Senate Judiciary Committee is likely to subpoena Focus on the Family's James Dobson "to explain the private assurances he says he received from the White House about Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers," and specifically her views on abortion and Roe v. Wade. For background, see John Fund's column from last Monday.

The New York Times reported yesterday that Sen. Sam Brownback, a conservative Kansas Republican who sits on the Judiciary Committee, is calling on the Bush administration to waive executive privilege and release documents from Miers's tenure at the White House. On Friday Charles Krauthammer suggested that a dispute over such documents would be the perfect "exit strategy"--i.e., pretext to withdraw the nomination.

On the Oct. 7 episode of PBS's "The Journal Editorial Report," this columnist went "out on a limb" and predicted Miers would not be confirmed. Seventeen days later, the limb feels stronger than ever.