The Anti-Sam Brownback Blog

From the Financial Times:

Mr Specter insisted his committee would investigate whether there had been what he called a “back room deal” between Ms Miers and Mr Bush, committing her to overturn Roe v Wade. James Dobson of the leading social conservative group Focus on the Family has said he believes Ms Miers opposes abortion, based on conversations he has had with the White House. Senator Patrick Leahy, the ranking Democrat on the Senate judiciary committee, said Ms Miers told him she had given no such assurances.

Things are getting interesting. Dobson could possibly be subpoenaed by the judiciary committee. Does he actually have information or is he just lying?

Additionally, Brownback was interviewed on CBS’s Face the Nation and had this to say about the nomination:

But on the court, when–I think what you’re seeing are two things going on. Number one, a lot of us wanted to see somebody that was a well-formed jurist so that they had a track record of what they would do in key cases coming in front of the court. And we could have a debate with the country and within the Senate about what this means, if a person has already ruled, say, on some of the key cases of the day, and have that discussion. Harriet Miers doesn’t have that track record and doesn’t seem to be well-formed in her judicial philosophy, having never been on the bench.

And over a period of time–and this is the second point of what’s going on–is jurists have tended–that have been appointed by Republican presidents, to veer to the left over a period of time if they’re not well-formed in their judicial philosophy. And I think you’re seeing both of these at play: one, not a clear philosophical position; and number two, the potential over time of veering to the left.

All of this is pretty standard and nothing new. The Christian fundamentalists are very afraid of another David Souter. He is the bogeyman that haunts their dreams of a dominionist nation. By tapping into that frustration and fear, Senator Brownback is establishing himself as a “normal guy” with the Christian right. The more interesting part of the interview was later when Scheiffer asked:

After talking to her up at the Capitol this week you said publicly only that she’s a nice lady, and I’m told that you told some in private, according to Newsweek magazine, the confirmation hearings are going to `cut her up.’ Is that accurate?

Senator Brownback responded, “That… statement is not accurate.” I heard something very similar yesterday evening from an e-mail tip but with different wording. According to the tipster Brownback said the confirmation hearings are going to “chew her up”. So take it as you will… but it seems as though Brownback is worried about her intellectual ability. As he should be.