Letter to the editor - Bush + Harriet Miers

Way back in 2000 conservatives threw their support behind George Bush. It isn't that any conservative would have considered Gore, that would have been an abomination of the first order, but it was a choice between McCain and Bush. Those of us who supported Mr. Bush did so largely because of the pending Supreme Court vacancies and his promise to nominate strict constructionists to those seats once they became available.

The seats remained filled through out his first term but 2 opened this year. The first nomination, Roberts, met the expectations of Mr. Bush's promise although that fact was difficult to discern it does appear to be true.

The second nomination falls well short of his promise in that Ms. Miers, while no doubt an intelligent lawyer, is not a schooled constitutional attorney nor can we discern whether or not she is a strict constructionist.

The country is in the midst of a cultural tug of war. One side in this tug of war is exemplified by the ACLU, and organization that believes anything goes in a public forum including desecration the flag and public sex acts but not prayer or religious figures. On the other side are traditional Americans who believe sex should be a private matter between consenting adults in the privacy of their homes and that the flag should be held high and honored.

With a Supreme Court that is populated by judges who believe they can look to European legal trends for insight instead of reading what the constitution says it is imperative that we be sure that this one remaining open seat, that of Justice O'Connor, be filled by a strict constructionist someone who understands that the founding fathers meant what they said and didn't intend that the constitution be bent to satisfy a trendy urge.

For that reason I strongly believe that Harriet Miers be denied a seat on the Supreme Court, even if that means a set back for the President that I otherwise support - well, mostly.