Stealth No More: Miers Pals Vow She'll Overturn Roe

The trouble with a nominee this stealthy: to reassure conservatives, her friends have had to de-cloak her.

Mr. Dobson quelled the controversy by saying that Karl Rove, the White House's deputy chief of staff, had not given him assurances about how a Justice Miers would vote. "I would have loved to have known how Harriet Miers views Roe v. Wade," Mr. Dobson said last week. "But even if Karl had known the answer to that--and I'm certain that he didn't because the president himself said he didn't know--Karl would not have told me that. That's the most incendiary information that's out there, and it was never part of our discussion."

It might, however, have been part of another discussion. On Oct. 3, the day the Miers nomination was announced, Mr. Dobson and other religious conservatives held a conference call to discuss the nomination. One of the people on the call took extensive notes, which I have obtained. According to the notes, two of Ms. Miers's close friends--both sitting judges--said during the call that she would vote to overturn Roe.

Now she'll face even tougher scrutiny from liberals. Had she had some kind of a paper trail that showed conservative leanings, none of this would have happened.

I know: If many conservatives hadn't questioned her, this wouldn't have happened, either.

Tough call. I don't know if I buy this -- this is all second-hand stuff; who really knows what she thinks? -- and we're getting into a dicey area where some people can swear they know she's against Roe while she'll testify (probably) that she hasn't made up her mind about it yet.

Subpeonaeing Judge Hecht: A participant in the conference call, he's apparently made two contradictory statements, one that he knows based on personal information Miers will be an anti-Roe vote, two that he just can't predict what the woman will do.

Sketchy.

posted by Ace at 02:02 PM

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