NYT: Faith and the Court
I've stayed away from putting anything here about the Harriet Miers Supreme Court thing, because everyone else in the world seems to be doing quite a good job. But there's a good op-ed piece in the New York Times that I had to mention ...The White House is making a well-publicized shift in its marketing of Harriet Miers, President Bush's nominee for the Supreme Court. From now on, the talk is to be about her qualifications rather than her heart, her character or, especially, her religion. It's none too soon. The president's attempt to sell his choice on the basis of her evangelical faith has been offensive. Mr. Bush is all in favor of judges strictly interpreting the Constitution, but he seemed to have forgotten about Article VI. That's where the founders decreed that "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office."The Bush administration has been using religion as code, to communicate reassurance to the right that Ms. Miers will be opposed to abortion and gay rights, and to dodge legitimate questions about her legal philosophy and qualifications. As a result, the American people have no idea whether Ms. Miers thinks there is a constitutional right to privacy or where she stands on the extent of federal powers, but they do know that she was born a Roman Catholic and became an evangelical Christian. They know that she was a longtime member of the Valley View Christian Church, and that she was one of a small number of worshipers who joined its minister, Ron Key, in breaking away and forming the Cornerstone Christian Church because of a disagreement over styles of worship. ...
posted by Paul Wilczynski @ 8:30 AM
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