Roman Hruska: until now, the patron saint of government mediocrity
You know you may be in trouble when you are a “Conservative” President and the the house organ of the American Fascist Party, the Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Page, takes you to task for the nomination of Harriet Miers.
Actually, in one of the few times I’ve ever felt myself agreeing with Mein Kampf, Jr., I couldn’t help but admiring Randy Barnett for citing Federalist Paper 76 in his argument against cronyism in the appointment of Miers. According to Barnett’s reading, and mine, of Federalist 76, the very reason the Senate has approval power of Presidential appointments is to prevent exactly a case like Bush’s annointment of Harriet Miers.
Let’s face it, the only qualifications Bush could come up with in his ridiculous nomination speech yesterday was Miers’ church membership and her tenure as head of the Texas Lottery Commission…and the long association with him. Just what I want in someone who has a lifetime appointment to decide how we’re all going to live–another evangelical who runs an immoral scheme to rip off the poor.
Sheesh, even Michael Brown had some judging experience, even if it was only Arabian Horse Shows.
So, with all the eminently qualified jurists in this land, with all the brilliant thinkers now sitting in our courts and in our law schools, the best Bush can come up with is someone he’s known for years and who once defended him in a boundary dispute at one of his vacation homes. Yup, she’s just who I want applying herself to the basic questions of privacy rights, abortion, torture of prisoners, and affirmative action.
I’m reminded of Roman Hruska, the Republican senator from Nebraska, who commented after the Senate’s rejection of G. Harrold Carswell for the Supreme Court on the basis of his “mediocrity”, “There are a lot of mediocre judges and people and lawyers. They are entitled to a little representation, aren’t they?”
Well, as long as we have Bush in the White House, and nominees like Miers headed for the Supreme Court, there’s no danger Hruska’s wish won’t be fulfilled.
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