During his confirmation hearings, John Roberts insisted repeatedly that he not only lacked an ideological agenda, but he also had no judicial “philosophy.” [Sen. Orrin Hatch] asked [Roberts] whether he is “an originalist, a strict constructionist, a fundamentalist, perfectionist, a majoritarian or minimalist….” Roberts replied that he resists labels and wants to be known only […]
At yesterday’s press conference, Bush was asked for his thoughts on why African Americans overwhelmingly voted against him and against Republicans in general. “I was disappointed, frankly, in the vote I got in the African American community. I was. I’ve done my best to elevate people to positions of authority and responsibility — not just […]
The president spent much of this morning’s press conference defending Harriet Miers and touting her well-hidden qualifications for the Supreme Court. On more than one occasion, though, Bush urged the Senate to confirm her on the basis of practically nothing. “[Miers] understands the law, she’s got a keen mind, she will not legislate from the […]
We learned back in March that Tom DeLay joined Jack Abramoff on a lavish European vacation, including golf at St. Andrew’s and a meeting with former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The trip, of course, has become controversial for a number of reasons, not the least of which was the fact that the excursion was […]
From time to time, the Federalist Papers offer unique insight into our republican ideals. As of yesterday, they also offer insight into the kind of mistake Bush made in nominating Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court. Randy Barnett, a law professor at Boston University, wrote an item for the Wall Street Journal today (brought to […]
The New Republic’s Ryan Lizza did a Nexis search and found a grand total of three articles written by Harriet Miers. The Nexis database goes back about 20 or so years, so that’s probably the total number of pieces we’re dealing with. But one in particular may have significance during the Supreme Court confirmation process. […]
There’s an interesting AP story out noting that the FBI has curtailed its criminal case work considerably since 9/11. There are only so many agents and the Justice Department has prioritized counterterrorism. Sort of. The FBI is investigating only about half the criminal cases it did before the Sept. 11 attacks because of its focus […]
The Bloomington (Ind.) Herald Times ran a feature over the weekend on a local boy made good, David Shuster, who now reports for NBC and MSNBC. But the important part, as Atrios noted, was Shuster reflecting on his work at another network where he got his start. The University of Michigan graduate said the gist […]
Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers: * Everyone’s favorite theocrat, disgraced former judge Roy Moore, announced yesterday that he will challenge Gov. Bob Riley in a Republican gubernatorial primary next year. Moore said he didn’t plan to move his […]
How difficult is it for the White House to convince its allies that Harriet Miers is the best of all possible nominees for the Supreme Court? The Bush gang feels it’s necessary to connect her nomination to terrorism. Ken Mehlman, chairman of the Republican National Committee, yesterday held a conference call with conservative leaders to […]