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Other Columns by Horace Cooper
She's No David SouterBy Horace Cooper October 10, 2005 "Read my lips: no new taxes." These six words ultimately led to what conservatives have come to see as one of the worst betrayals in the annals of political history. As Dick Armey - who as it happens was the Texas congressman who had led the rebellion over President Bush's tax hike - might say, "the President couldn't have been this wrong by accident."
Let's look back at 1990. Even before the tax hike the President's conservative base was restless. A row over funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and signs of a sagging economy had created a political environment perfect for the creation of Monday morning quarterbacks. Even in the the aftermath of a 90% approval rating over his handling of the Gulf War, critics on the right were already charging that the President had cut and run too soon before finishing off Saddam Hussein.
But in 1990 it was too early to tell that a greater breach of trust would come into being--David Souter, Supreme Court Justice. While there were a few writers at the time who questioned Souter's record, when the decision was initially announced most stories read like the Washington Times article reporting that Souter's selection "would help rehabilitate Mr. Bush's tarnished image among some supporters on the right..." and was "likely to solidify the high court's fragile conservative bloc." Others news organs such as Human Events ran a story proclaiming "Conservative Legal Experts Impressed with Souter's Credentials," and speculated Souter would "significantly advance the conservative thrust of the High Court." In fact, the only real opposition came from the far left. Edward Kennedy called Souter's record on civil rights "particularly troubling;" labeled some of his arguments "reactionary;" and said his past comments regarding Roe v. Wade were "alarming."
As Yogi Berra might opine, "It's Déjà vu all over again." Today President Bush faces criticism about a spiraling budget deficit and complaints about his handling of the economy. Critics attack his prosecution of the war in Iraq and he's facing open criticism about his nominee to the Supreme Court before she's heard the first oral argument.
It is with some irony that it must be noted that it now seems that it's the Iraq war which is popular with the GOP base and apparently it is primarily Senate Democrats who are prominently cheering the president's Supreme Court nominee. But even if GOP activists are as opposed to Harriet Miers as they were excited about Souter 15 years ago, history is likely to show the prevailing opinion to be wrong again.
Like Miss Miers, David Souter was a "little-known conservative" lawyer without much of a paper trail, as the Washington Post noted at the time. And like Miss Miers, Judge Souter was not administered a "litmus test" or asked by the president about cases or specific legal matters.
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