On this evening’s “NBC Nightly News,” Andrea Mitchell seemed to be advancing a position that would make both Republicans and Democrats angry about the president’s nomination of Harriet Miers to replace Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O’Connor.
Mitchell starts her segment with a statement from Texas Supreme Court justice Nathan Hecht that is clearly designed to raise the ire of pro-choice Americans: “She is pro-life. Harriet and I have attended pro-life dinners in Dallas years ago. She attends evangelical church in Dallas when she's there and has for 25 years that takes a very strong pro-life position.”
Then, Mitchell has a clip from Rush Limbaugh’s radio program today that should inflame conservatives: “The idea that we now have to roll the dice and wait a number of years to find out if this one works out, when it isn't necessary, is I guess the big bugaboo with me.”
What follows is a full-transcript of this report, along with a video link.
Mitchell: The president says he doesn't know what Harriet Miers thinks about abortion.
Bush: I never ask their personal opinion on the subject of abortion.
Mitchell: But Texas Supreme Court justice Nathan Hecht, a longtime friend who says he talked to Miers this morning, says she is definitely against abortion.
Hecht: She is pro-life. Harriet and I have attended pro-life dinners in Dallas years ago. She attends evangelical church in Dallas when she's there and has for 25 years that takes a very strong pro-life position.
Mitchell: Still, to many conservatives, Miers is a blank slate. The chief complaint again today on talk radio --
Limbaugh: The idea that we now have to roll the dice and wait a number of years to find out if this one works out, when it isn't necessary, is I guess the big bugaboo with me.
Mitchell: Conservatives also worry about her answers on this 1989 questionnaire from gay activists when Miers supported civil rights for gays. However she also opposed repealing Texas's anti-sodomy law which the Supreme Court later overturned. Still, conservatives ask why pick Miers over proven conservative judges? In fact, many Conservatives say that the president is missing a golden opportunity to change the direction of the high court, exactly what he promised when he was re-elected.
Bush: I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it.
Mitchell: The Miers nomination critics on the right say leaves them depressed and disappointed.
Conservative Activist: We spent our entire political life waiting for this moment, and the president ran from the fight.
Mitchell: But their opposition may not matter for Miers’ confirmation. So far, no republican senator has joined the chorus of critics.
Video Link
