If Harriet Miers is the strictest of constructionists and an originalist, why is her evangelical Christianity—with the stamp of approval from Focus on the Family’s James Dobson, no less-- being showcased as a feature?
"People are interested to know why I picked Harriet Miers,'' [President Bush]; said. "They want to know Harriet Miers' background. They want to know as much as they possibly can before they form opinions. Part of Harriet Miers' life is her religion.'' [SNIP]
On a radio show broadcast Wednesday, James Dobson, founder of the conservative Focus on the Family, said that before Miers was nominated, deputy White House chief of staff Karl Rove reassured him that she was an "evangelical Christian, that she is from a very conservative church, which is almost universally pro-life.''
I’m starting to think that not a small amount of hypocrisy is part of the Miers nomination; that some conservatives believe that it’s okay for a judge/justice to be a judicial activist as long as that activism favors perceived conservative positions.
Unless this reaction is part of the plan.
In case you're wondering, I'm still on the fence but leaning toward 'no.'
(Thanks to M. Simon)
UPDATE: When a rabid atheist and a bunch of rabid fideists (thank you, Mr. Hitchens) are in agreement and religion is a major part of the subject, you know that a certain decision needs to be reviewed.UPDATE: Cal Thomas--a very Christian man--also has questions in this vein:
If Harriet Miers can easily set aside her faith on the job, what is the point of nominating someone with such faith? Why not nominate someone of no faith and the question would never come up? Is faith good only for the confirmation process, but not the job?These questions help outline the disconnect between the Bush Administration playing up Ms. Miers' faith and the job description of Supreme Court justice.
Most of the Christian Right do not want a religious test applied to candidates and nominees of government office. It's obvious that we "snake-handlers" were "misunderestimated." But that's no surprise by now.
