| On Monday we covered John Cornyn's hypocritical double standard on judicial nominations. Since then, Cornyn has continued making his illogical arguments against Elena Kagan, and now has been joined by Kay Bailey Hutchison. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas thought Miers was a "wonderful choice" in 2005, but today she "has some concerns over Elena Kagan's lack of judicial experience."
Five years ago, Cornyn and Hutchison portrayed Bush nominee Harriet Miers as a welcomed change to a Supreme Court filled with career judges. Miers, by almost any measurement, was historically underqualified to be a justice. But that did not matter to Cornyn or Hutchison. The Republican party line in 2005 was that Miers -- whose resume outside of the Bush White House included stints as chair of the Texas Lottery Commission and two years on the Dallas City Council -- was qualified to be nominated to the Supreme Court. In turn, that was their opinion. Had John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison decided five years ago to declare Miers to be unqualified (which ultimately became the national consensus) they might have some credibility left to criticize Kagan for her lack of judicial experience. The facts are really just embarrassing for Cornyn and Hutchison, as they often are. Five years ago they enthusiastically backed a mid-level White House staffer with zero judicial experience. Now, with President Obama in the White House, they have decided that a former dean of Harvard Law School and U.S. solicitor general lacks the necessary experience. Apparently, in the eyes of John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison, the Texas Lottery Commission and Dallas City Hall are better training grounds for a future Supreme Court Justice than Harvard Law School or the U.S. Department of Justice. |
