Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) questioned Tuesday whether Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers has a “firm commitment” to what he called the framers’ “original intent” of the Constitution, saying that President Bush’s knowledge of her “heart” didn’t end the need for tough questioning, Roll Call reported on their website Tuesday afternoon, RAW STORY can reveal. Excerpts:
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A potential 2008 presidential candidate and member of the Judiciary Committee, Brownback on Tuesday served up the most detailed and most hesitant statement among Senate Republicans on Miers’ nomination, waiting more than a day to offer up his critique.
“President Bush has a long-standing working relationship with Ms. Miers and I trust the president knows her heart and her mind. Even so, the confirmation process has just begun and questions about her views on the Constitution need to be answered,” Brownback said in a prepared statement, echoing Bush’s remarks Tuesday morning in a Rose Garden press conference.
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“I look forward to learning at her confirmation hearing whether she possesses a firm commitment to the framers’ Constitution and to the rule of law,” Brownback said. “I am hopeful that Ms. Miers will be, as President Bush promised, a qualified nominee in the mold of Justices [Antonin] Scalia and [Clarence] Thomas.”
Brownback did not outright oppose Miers, nor have any Senate Republicans to date. But the Kansas Republican went the furthest in questioning Miers’ conservative bona fides, potentially positioning himself to be the leader of a opposition to the nominee from the right if she does not meet their expectations.
Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) questioned Tuesday whether Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers has a “firm commitment” to what he called the framers’ “original intent” of the Constitution, saying that President Bush’s knowledge of her “heart” didn’t end the need for tough questioning, Roll Call