Making sense of Miers

For those of us with a political bent, the big news du jour is President Bush's naming of his choice to fill Justice O'Connor's shoes over at the Supreme Court -- his personal lawyer, Harriet Miers.

And if you're saying "Who?" you're not the only one.

The right wing echo chamber is particularly confused over Ms. Miers. Some of them are totally pissed because Miers is not a high-profile anti-abortionist anti-gay anti-everything firebrand; I guess, after the Judge Roberts scuffle, they wanted someone who had "I AM A TOOL OF THE RIGHT" tattooed on her forehead. Others are taking the we-should-just-blindly-trust-George-W-Bush-as-usual approach, figuring she shouldn't reveal her right-wing tattoos until after she gets her new seat warm. When even conservative ass-kissers (people who kiss conservative ass, and conservatives who kiss ass -- there's little difference) like Bill O'Reilly don't know which way to declare themselves over the Miers nomination, that's a clear sign that the official talking points memos haven't been faxed yet.

For those of us who don't have our heads up the elephant's ass, however, the answer is simple -- follow the money:

...according to the 5/1/00 newsletter Class Action Reporter, Miers headed Locke, Liddell & Sapp at the time the firm was forced to pay $22 million to settle a suit asserting that "it aided a client in defrauding investors."

...The Austin American-Statesman reported in 2001 that Miers' lawfirm was forced to pay another $8 million for a similar scheme to defraud investors. The suit, which dealt with actions the firm took under Miers in the late 1990s, was again quite troubling. As the 9/20/00 Texas Lawyer reported, Miers' firm helped a now-convicted con man "defraud investors and allowed the firm's [bank] account to be used as a 'conduit.'"

...If you think Miers wasn't involved in any of this -- think again. Miers wasn't just any old lawyer at the firm. She was the Managing Partner -- the big cheese.

Bush (and Cheney) may have been paying lip service to the religious right, throwing them a bone from time to time, but that's primarily a tactic to drive the Dobsons into voting for them. Now that the 2004 election's over, appeasing them isn't as high of a priority, so Bush can go back to supporting his true base -- the haves and the have-mores. If you thought the Supremes have been too friendly to the corporate powers before, wit 'till you get Miers on the bench.

And, of course, having a Kool-Aid drinking Bush worshipper on the Supremes can't hurt if and when he ends up facing them on charges...