President Bush Nominates Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court

 

This morning the President nominated White House Counsel Harriet Miers to the seat being vacated by Justice Sandra Day OConnor on the Supreme Court of the United States.  I have worked with Harriet Miers over the last several years and believe the President made a great choice.  Miss Miers led the opposition to the American Bar Associations (ABA) decision to come out in support of Roe v. Wade and abortion rights.  She stated that at a minimum, there should have been a vote of the ABA membership before they took such an extreme position.

 

Harriet Miers represents the conservative mainstream of judicial philosophy of interpreting the Constitution, not re-writing it.  Once again, President Bush showed exceptional judgment in naming a replacement for Justice OConnor.  At a time when the high court is facing some of the most critical issues of the day including a number of cases dealing directly with abortion and life issues the person who replaces Justice OConnor is critical.  Miss Miers is an excellent choice with an extraordinary record of service in the legal community and is certain to approach her work on the high court with a firm commitment to follow the Constitution and the rule of law.  I have been privileged to work with her in her capacity as White House counsel.  She is bright, thoughtful, and a consummate professional and I enthusiastically endorse her nomination.

 

We look forward to a speedy confirmation process and will work aggressively to ensure that Harriet Miers gets full and fair consideration before the Senate.  We call on members of the Senate to reject the partisan political rhetoric and focus on the judicial philosophy of this conservative mainstream nominee.

 

We know the intentions of the liberal left are to do anything possible to derail this nominee.  In Planned Parenthoods recent release, Karen Pearl, interim PPFA president stated: "We are concerned about the nomination of Harriet Miers and we demand she answer questions regarding her views of fundamental reproductive and privacy rights."  They added, "We expect Miers to make clear her views on reproductive rights during the hearing process, and the Senate should not confirm a nominee who is not willing to do so.  Confirming a Supreme Court justice should not be an exercise of partisanship or clever gamesmanship but rather an honest, thoughtful, thorough examination."

During Mierss tenure as head of the Texas Bar Association, she was a leader in the campaign to reverse the American Bar Association's pro-choice position on the right to choose.  Had this campaign been successful, which it was not, the ABA would have been returned to its former position of neutrality.

We will begin mobilizing a national campaign to ensure that Miers is confirmed.  In addition, support for the nominee will be generated through our daily radio broadcast, Jay Sekulow Live!, that reaches 1.5 million listeners, through the weekly television show, by using direct mail, phone calls, and emails to a list approaching one million supporters.  We are prepared to meet the oppositions challenges head on and ensure that this battle ends with the confirmation of Harriet Miers as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.