The appointment of Harriet Miers to OUR Supreme Court is an appointment that is an act of cronyism. ChicagoDem writes an excellent
diary as to the reasons why this appointment was made by the President. But is the wordsof Alexander Hamilton that ring true with prophecy of to our times. Federalist Paper 76 is amazingly prescient. See why after the fold:
These are the prophetic
words of Hamilton:
To what purpose then require the co-operation of the Senate? I answer, that the necessity of their concurrence would have a powerful, though, in general, a silent operation. It would be an excellent check upon a spirit of favoritism in the President, and would tend greatly to prevent the appointment of
unfit characters from State prejudice, from family connection, from personal attachment, or from a view to popularity. In addition to this, it would be an efficacious source of stability in the administration.
It will readily be comprehended, that a man who had himself the sole disposition of offices, would be governed much more by his private inclinations and interests, than when he was bound to submit the propriety of his choice to the discussion and determination of a different and independent body, and that body an entier branch of the legislature. The possibility of rejection would be a strong motive to care in proposing. The danger to his own reputation, and, in the case of an elective magistrate, to his political existence, from betraying a spirit of favoritism, or an unbecoming pursuit of popularity, to the observation of a body whose opinion would have great weight in forming that of the public, could not fail to operate as a barrier to the one and to the other. He would be both ashamed and afraid to bring forward, for the most distinguished or lucrative stations, candidates who had no other merit than that of coming from the same State to which he particularly belonged, or of being in some way or other personally allied to him, or of possessing the necessary insignificance and pliancy to render them the obsequious instruments of his pleasure.
Does this President have any shame for this appointment? Will a Justice Miers merely act as a sycophantic tool in the quest of the Bush Crime Family to steal elections and enrich their allies and themselves or can she be the objective protector and enforcer of individual rights and liberties envisioned by the Constitution? How could Hamilton foresee our day when Texan's would reign supreme but have no other merit distinguishable for the highest point of justice in our nation, perhaps the world. A better matter to ponder is how President Bush could ignore so so completely the bluntly stated observation of our founders by pursuing "his private inclinations and interests" over the nation. But then isn't this the trademark of this administration.
Miers must not become that pliable treasure of future justice for Bush, the corporatists and the neo-cons. Senators must find the words of Hamilton and reflect. It does not require serious reflection to see the fulfillment of the caution that Hamilton states is unlikely because of shame or fear. So they must act to preserve the nation and restore hope that we are not a monarchy with an ancestral class of incompetent and self serving royals. As for me no King George for America.
If if the Senate is "afraid" and the President remains perfectly shameless is his self interest, then the mechanism of envisioned checks and balances by the founders becomes impotent. It is cause for concern... not just for this appointment but frankly for the fate of the nation. I do not intend to be alarmist but what evidense can anyone show for any sense of optimism for this unusual appointment to the Supreme Court.
It is time of concern for this nation in my humble opinion.