NYT: Bush Is Not Expected to Feel Need to Pick Woman Again

[liberalpragmatist]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/28/politics/politicsspecial1/28names.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1130472289-6Gn0Dr3wFhjg3rzYlyilhA

WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 - In choosing a replacement for Harriet E. Miers, President Bush may feel less of a need to select a woman to fill the seat of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, several lawyers and analysts said Thursday.

The lawyers and analysts, all of whom have been involved in directly or indirectly counseling the White House about Supreme Court selections, also said that because of Mr. Bush's desire to move quickly, he would probably choose from the roster of candidates whom he has considered before and whose backgrounds and records have been extensively researched.

<snip>

One lawyer close to the president said that when Mr. Bush chose Ms. Miers he did so after concluding there was not a long roster of female candidates with whom he felt comfortable.

"When he chose her," said the lawyer, "she was one of three finalists and the other two were men."

The other two candidates, the lawyer said, were federal appeals court judges, Samuel A. Alito Jr. and J. Michael Luttig, both of whom remain leading candidates who would bring strong legal and judicial credentials to any confirmation battle.

***

Ugh. Luttig sounds terrible and Alito sounds even worse. His nickname is "Scalito."

The article goes on to describe a prominent Washington Lawyer, Maureen Mahoney. Personally I think, based on my admittedly incomplete knowledge, that she sounds like the best choice from our point-of-view. We're unfortunately not going to get a liberal. This is a woman who clerked for Rehnquist and worked in the Reagan Justice Dept., but who is known for being extremely smart. She also is comfortable with Washington Democrats because despite her conservatism, she's known as not being an ideologue and she represented the University of Michigan in the affirmative action case that went before the court a couple years ago. She said in an interview, when asked why she defended their position despite being a Republican, that it was "a position she was comfortable with."

Other good choices from our point-of-view would probably be Judge Harvey Wilkinson, a moderate, and Judge Michael McConnell.

Most of the other names being bandied about sound like disasters.

ON EDIT: Also, WTF is up with Bush's "not being comfortable" with any of the women? Does he only like to surround himself with middle-aged sycophantic single women? Do married professional women threaten him? And what's with the whole "comfort"-thing anyway. Shouldn't they be, er, qualified? It's not like he's supposed to be sitting down with these guys for a beer.

[Erika]

1. So we'll have a SC made up with only one woman?

I'd say the Republicans have done a tremendous jobs of limiting a woman's view on the Court. One token woman and one token black man.

[swag]

2. Well, he's married for one thing, and all that boozing and drugging

have probably destroyed his libido.

No need for him to pick any more women, so true. Not that any self-respecting women would be picked by him anyway.

[cynatnite]

3. Bush is a fucking bastard!!!!

:grr: He threw her out to satisfy everyone that he tried with a woman and now he doesn't have to anymore. He can pick a white male whose got his nose in a fucking bible and his lips on bush's ass. :grr:

Talk about a dirty goddamn trick!

[Gato Moteado]

8. i doubt he makes the decisions anyways......

dick or kkkarl will make the pick.

[VegasWolf]

40. I doubt if he ever did .... :) n/t

[krkaufman]

10. I wouldn't put this past Rove at all. n/t

[DoYouEverWonder]

21. More proof that Miers is a total ass

and an embarrassment to allow herself to be used in such a way. I'm sure she'll be well rewarded in other ways. Maybe even a night alone with her idol?

[DrDan]

25. I tend to agree with you

Now add Pickles' quote from a week or so ago where the Dems were being "sexist" re this choice, and you have a recipe to blame the whole thing on Democrats - it's their fault that junior had to choose a white-male-crony.

[demigoddess]

31. exactly what I thought, pick an incompetent woman and then you

have a good excuse to choose a guy. One reason the RW did not like miers was she was of the female persuasion.

[deadparrot]

4. O'Connor will be pissed.

She was pissed when Roberts was originally picked to replace her--she wanted a woman, or "diversity," at least. If he picks another white male, it's gonna get really interesting.

[marmar]

5. Or anyone mildly reasonable...

He's going extreme right for the next one.

:scared: :scared: :scared:

[liberalpragmatist]

6. Well, maybe the precedent is encouraging (?)

I think both with Nixon and Reagan, when one nominee got withdrawn the next one went down too. So... maybe it'll be strike 2 and we'll wind up with someone reasonable in round 3?

[rogue_bandit]

7. Maybe he set it up that way...

Maybe he nominated her knowing she would not be even in the running, but then able to nominate a man instead. Male chauvinism knows no bounds.

[Carolab]

9. How convenient.

"...she was one of three finalists and the other two were men..."

Miers was a red herring. She was deliberately picked in order to cause a furor so that * could name someone REALLY evil. I KNEW she was trouble. So now everyone will "go along" because here, after all, are alternatives with REAL credentials. I knew she was going to cause trouble.

[MisterP]

11. oh, great, it's going to be Billie Mays

[yellowcanine]

12. Do married professional women threaten Bush? That's easy. Yes. Of

course so do lots of other people. Reporters who can speak French for instance. People who went to an Ivy League school based on their academic qualifications rather than family legacy affirmative action. People who use correct grammer and pronunciation. People who use big words and know what they mean. Competent people. People who know how to make a coherent logical argument......

[Erika]

13. Or people who have an IQ above 70

They scare W to death.

[ima_sinnic]

23. people who can empathize, and have a conscience

. . . people who would be in public office for the good of the community, not for what it can do for them and their friends.
The little dumbass just can't -- relate to that, know what I mean?

[bluestateguy]

14. I don't care

If we could have a liberal judge on the Supreme Court, I would not care if that person was a white Anglo-Saxon heterosexual Protestant male from an elite old money family.

Let's be honest, any woman that Bush chose for the court would be a complete damn fool, as would any man he chose.

[Straight Shooter]

15. If bush would pull his head out of his butt

then he would find some very eligible women in the United States. Honestly, can't he pick someone middle-of-the-road, neither overly conservative nor overly progressive? It isn't like finding a needle in a haystack.

I would prefer a progressive with an outstanding record of being on the average American citizen's side, but I know that's not going to happen with the shrub making the choice. However, he's asking for trouble if he chooses another loser that doesn't know diddly-squat about the law and is rabidly reactionary.

[radfringe]

19. he can't pull his head out of his butt

that's where he finds all his croneys

[truthisfreedom]

16. i adore the title of that article. gannon/guckert must have laughed

reading it.

[Erika]

17. Bush will run his next choice through Ann, Rushbo, et al

They told him in no certain terms who brung him to the dance. He's been totally emasculated by these types. They own him and he now knows it.

[Thom Little]

18. Let him pick a white christian conservative hatemonger.

The nation will see him for the racist, theocratic bigot he is.

[AndyTiedye]

36. And We Will Be Stuck With a Theocratic Bigot for the Next 3 Decades.

The theocratic bigots in the Senate will push him through
and we haven't got enough votes to stop anyone.
They'll use the "nuclear option" to emasculate our party permanently.

[Hekate]

20. Probably just as well, considering his appointments to the federal bench

I'm just sayin' ... I'd love to see more minorities and women, but he seems to have this gift (if you can call it that) for locating Neocon women and minorities.

The two women he appointed to the federal bench ignited urgent action letters from Planned Parenthood about their abysmal record on choice.

And Alberto Gonzales? as I've been saying, Torquemada was Hispanic too.

Hekate

[cornermouse]

22. Well, yeah, but at least he's not using gender to make his choice

He's avoiding choosing according to gender, so we can comfort ourselves with the "fact" that we have now grown past using gender as a basis and can settle down with an almost all-male Supreme Court once again (and by the way, if Bader-Ginsburg would just cooperate and resign...)

That is true equality, isn't it? :sarcasm:

[truthisfreedom]

24. i hope they uncover that his next choice is a French Jew.

and i hope it makes poppy have two full-blown heart attacks.

[anotherdrew]

26. so it'll be mAnn Coulter then?

[Pacifist Patriot]

27. So that's why he picked Miers. Get the token

vagina out of the way so he can get down to the business of appointing a prick.

[bleedingheart]

28. yeah...over 50% of the populace can just be ignored....

no need for women to be involved unless they are breeding...

[TheCowsCameHome]

29. Farewell to female GOP voters.

Will they be pissed, or what?

[Divernan]

33. The GOP women I know are determinedly brain dead.

They let their GOP husbands do the thinking for them, and just vote straight GOP tickets, as always. I can't even stand to be polite to them in social situations anymore, so have dropped out of one private club and avoid class reunion settings.

[TheCowsCameHome]

35. Very true. They are a smarmy bunch. Very snotty types.

[Delphinus]

30. By some odd freak of nature,

I was listening to NPR yesterday afternoon and I heard one of their panelists say this. This is so totally wrong.

[LynneSin]

32. Of course not, that's the reason he picked Miers

she was unqualified, she knew the neo-cons would hate her and she would eventually step down as the nomination.

Now he can appoint another white man to rule our country :puke:

[Left Turn]

34. You Know what

I don't have a preference whether it is a man, woman or minority. And of course I fully expect Bush to pick a strong conservative. As long as he picks someone with really strong credentials and qualifications, I'm not sure I'll have much of an objection. If we want liberal judges, we're going to have to get the White House back.

[Lisa]

37. Canada has less than 15% of the US population, but we found 4 women ...

All competent, experienced, and with a diverse range of views, to be on our Supreme Court. The US must have THOUSANDS of potential qualified candidates -- who happen to be female, and are conservatives (let alone moderate ones)! How difficult can it be? I get the impression that Bush doesn't look very hard -- this is, what, the second time that the person who was supposed to be searching/vetting has become the nominee for a position. (Starting right out of the gate with Cheney for VP.)

[liberalpragmatist]

38. Wow... those robes are quite... interesting

9 Santa Clauses

[superconnected]

39. This is so frigging insulting. How would the blacks or the men feel

if it was them that needn't be "tokenly only" selected. Why can't the candidate just be qualified and gender/race not matter.

Oh yeah, because it's Bush. No qualifications so he has nothing else to go on.

Still, as a woman, it's insutlting as hell. It's like reading pre-suffrage news.

[topsfieldgal]

41. No Woman to Pick This Time

So you guys had your chance. But now it's gone.