Harriet Miers Gets Her Chance

Posted on October 3, 2005

President Bush got this week's news cycle started by nominating Harriet Meirs, his personal counsel, to be the next Supreme Court justice. So who is Harriet Miers? She's one of the Bush inner circle. She went to SMU and SMU Law School. She was the first woman hired by Locke, Purnell, and later was the first female partner. She helped Bush clean up Texas Lotto. And when she went to the White House, she's the one that's led the search for all those conservative federal judges Bush is so fond of.

But she's never been a judge, so she has virtually no paper trail. A lifelong member of the Valley View Christian church, her pastor says her views on abortion are "consistent with the views of Christian evangelicals." But is that a Jimmy Carter evangelical or a James Dobson evangelical?

An article on Law.com notes that she's single, with no children but has dated conservative Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht off and on over the years. One assumes that Justice Hecht (who is rabidly anti-choice) was also unmarried during this episodic dating behavior.

What do we know? Harriet Miers is a trailblazer, no question. She gave money to Al Gore in the 80's before Al Gore was pro-choice. She remembers people's birthdays. She wears size 6 shoes. So, what does it all mean as far as her position on protecting the right to choose? No one has a clue as of today. Let the research begin.