The ever awesome Digby
offers a key point that all Lefties, giggling at the sight of the right-wing losing their collective minds over the choice of a Bush Loyalist to the High Court, should be very concerned about:
Now the Texas mafia and the spawn of the college Republicans have their own seat on the highest court in the land for the next 20 years. But having one on the court for the next 10 years is crucial. With the election fixing, gerrymandering, corruption and executive power cases coming before the court over the next few years, her position will be very important to the GOP machine. It may very well be personally important to Karl Rove himself.
Indeed. We may not know where Miers stands on issues, but we know one thing: she will stand beside the Bush Administration at all times. Why that should worry us is outlined by Billmon:
If the recent tsunami wave of indictments, arrests, and investigations of the GOP political machine has shown anything, it's that the most effective political opposition force in America right now isn't the media or the blogosphere or the Democratic Party (certainly not that last) -- it's the criminal justice system.
Tom Delay's paranoia notwithstanding, there is no coordinated campaign under way to "get" Republicans, at least as far as I can tell. (although maybe there should be.) But, by default, career prosecutors and investigators -- like those in the Justice Department's Criminal Division, the FBI, the SEC, U.S. Attorneys' offices, and, of course, Patrick Fitzgerald's special prosecutors office -- have been left as the only independent actors capable of challenging the power of an entrenched political elite.
Billmon then goes on to discuss that these investigators may be wasting their time, because while they may eliminate annoying branches, the tree will still exist and until that is rooted out, real political change will not be cemented in this country, and the corruption will continue on.
But I digress. Isn't it true, looking at how we have progressed the last five years, that the real independent checks on power have not been the press or the opposition party, but the prosecutors and courts? Miers could be the deciding vote that upholds Roe v. Wade, but are we, as New Democrats and those disgusted at the current corruption of our system, willing to support a justice who could make such corruption by the Bush Administration, including the outing of a CIA Agent, legal?! And like I mentioned before, being a Bush Loyalist, she will likely rule on issues that Bush favors, like ruling for Bush in the Jose Padilla case.
Think about that. Bush may likely be nominating an individual who will never rule to convict any member of the Bush Administration for any laws they may have broken, no matter how heinous the crime or corruption. Remember what some left bloggers recently said when Bush refused to fire Rove - "Bush has legalized crime" was the outcry.
Some may not be bothered by the sheer cronyism of this appointment, considering it "par for the course" with this Administration (which it is). I, myself, despite my serious concerns, am currently unsure as to whether outright oppose or support Harriet Miers' bid for O'Connor's seat on the Supreme Court (we need to dive more into her possible recursions from cases involving BushCo). But I do know one thing: many of us have been shouting alerts regarding the rising fascism in this nation. All that needs to happen is for the abilities of our criminal justice system to be undercut, by both legislation and by the courts themselves, before our country descends into territory that I can't even fathom. A crony judge whose only tool for ruling is unrepenting loyalty could give a precedent that will be worse than getting Bush, Rove, et. al off without penalty - the ability for any president to be above the law and do whatever it wants, Constitution be damned.
Upholding Roe v. Wade, or Griswold v. Connecticut, won't stop that.
Something to consider as we review the "qualifications" of this new nominee...