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Miers Withdraws From Supreme Court After Revelations of 1993 Speech

WASHINGTON, October 27, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Harriet Miers has withdrawn her nomination to the Supreme Court Thursday as a result of rapidly growing conservative opposition to her selection. In an official statement today President Bush said he "reluctantly accepted Harriet Miers' decision to withdraw her nomination." 

The withdrawal came on the heels of what the Family Research Council yesterday called "very disturbing" revelations a 1993 speech Miers gave to the Executive Women of Dallas and a call, also yesterday, for the withdrawal of the Miers nomination from Concerned Women for America (CWA). Once the releases from these two influential and staunch Bush-supportive organizations became public, the Miers nomination process was all but over.

The CWA release left no doubt that it now considered Miers totally unacceptable for the Supreme Court. It stated, "Two speeches in 1993 by Harriet Miers, while president of the Texas Bar Association, indicated a penchant for judicial activism, race and sex quotas, a liberal characterization of the abortion debate and government spending, and an inability to articulate her positions clearly.  As examples of courage, she cited various left-wing figures, including Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and actress Barbra Streisand.  As examples of women to emulate, she cited former Attorney General Janet Reno and former Texas Gov. Ann Richards, both extremely anti-life."

James Dobson of Focus on the Family stated that the president's acceptance of Miers' withdrawal was a "wise decision". Dobson, who tentatively approved the Miers nomination now says, "Based on what we now know about Miss Miers, it appears that we would not have been able to support her candidacy. Thankfully, that difficult evaluation is no longer necessary."

Political watchers suggested that the President was looking to fill the post with an Evangelical Christian to placate his formidable support from that constituency.  While Miers fit the bill in that regard, she, at least by all available public records, did not fit the bill as a pro-life conservative.

CWA's executive vice president Wendy Wright commented on this saying, "Harriet Miers has shown respect for Christian values by attending an Evangelical church. But her professional and civic life leaves us questioning whether she chooses to reflect and advance the views of the group she's with at the moment. Though she attends an Evangelical church known for its pro-life position, during the same time period she advanced radical feminists and organizations that promote agendas that undermine respect for life and family."

The President gave his official reason for accepting Miers withdrawal stating, "I understand and share her concern, however, about the current state of the Supreme Court confirmation process. It is clear that Senators would not be satisfied until they gained access to internal documents concerning advice provided during her tenure at the White House - disclosures that would undermine a President's ability to receive candid counsel."

Miers reflected the same theme in her published letter to the president and wrote, "Protection of the prerogatives of the Executive Branch and continued pursuit of my confirmation are in tension. I have decided that seeking my confirmation should yield."

Bush also committed to naming a replacement in short order.  "My responsibility to fill this vacancy remains. I will do so in a timely manner," he said.

With that replacement in mind, Phyllis Schlafly of the Eagle Forum reminded the president about what he had previously promised his large conservative base about the type of judges he would appoint but which he has apparenently not honored with Miers and possibly even Roberts.

Schlafly, reflecting what many conservative leaders are now thinking, stated "We hope the president will honor his campaign commitment and nominate a justice in the mold of Scalia and Thomas, someone who promises to uphold the Constitution as it was written, not as it might evolve."

President's Statement on Harriet Miers' Supreme Court Nomination Withdrawal http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/10/20051027-2.html 

Miers Withdrawal letter
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/1027051miers1.html

See CWA's analysis of Mier's 1993 speech
Miers’ Speeches Show Pattern of Feminism, Liberal Activism
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/9258/LEGAL/scourt/index.htm

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