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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Thomas A Watson who wrote (705667)	10/4/2005 8:18:09 PM
From: Mr. Palau	Respond to of 769670

Brownback skeptical on Miers nomination SAM HANANEL Associated Press WASHINGTON - Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback is greeting the nomination of Harriet Miers for the U.S. Supreme court like many other conservatives - with skepticism. Brownback, a Republican, said Tuesday he is disappointed Bush did not pick a candidate with a clearer track record on conservative issues like abortion and same-sex marriage. "There's precious little to go on and a deep concern that this would be a Souter-type candidate," he said referring to Supreme Court Justice David Souter, a little-known judge nominated for the court by the first President Bush who later turned out to be liberal on the bench. "The circumstances seem to be very similar," Brownback said. "Not much track record, people vouching for her, yet indications of a different thought pattern earlier in life." Brownback, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he hopes to learn more about Miers' background when he formally meets with her in his Senate office on Thursday. "I have not come to any conclusions, but there's a great deal of skepticism about her as a candidate," he said. Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts, also a Republican, issued a statement praising Miers as a "trailblazer for women" in the legal profession. "I look forward to learning more about her qualifications for the Supreme Court through the confirmation hearings," Roberts said. Miers, 60, is Bush's trusted White House counsel. Though she has a lengthy record as a lawyer in private practice and a public official in Texas, she has no experience as a judge. Brownback's views reflected the opinion of other conservatives, who hoped Bush was ready for a fight with Democrats over an outspoken conservative nominee in the mold of Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council says conservatives have faith in Bush's judgment, but that they would have preferred a nominee with a documented conservative track record. Perkins has not taken a position on the nomination, saying he will be looking for clues to Miers' judicial philosophy during her confirmation hearings. Democrats, meanwhile, appeared to be approaching Miers' nomination cautiously, though Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Monday he was "very happy that we have someone like her" to fill the seat of retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Brownback said he is concerned about Miers' political ties to some Democrats. She contributed $1,000 to Al Gore in his failed 1988 bid for the Democratic presidential nomination and gave the same amount that year to Texas Democratic Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, according to research by Political Money Line, a nonpartisan campaign finance tracking service. But she has contributed money to Republicans too, including President Bush. The practice of giving money to both sides of the aisle is not unusual among members of large law firms like the one Miers worked for in Dallas. For now, though, Brownback is withholding judgment, listening to what others have to say and gleaning information from the press. "The best thing she's got going for her is President Bush's consistency on judicial nominations," he said.