We noted in an earlier post that James Dobson, the co-founder of the right-wing fundamentalist group Focus on the Family, had been assuring other right-wing organizations that they should be happy with Bush's nomination of Harriet Miers, based on information the Dobson was unable to share.
Now Dobson has spilled the beans, after being given permission by Bush's right hand man. The reason he was comfortable supporting the nomination is that he had a conversation with Karl Rove that reassured him. What did he learn in that conversation? That Miers is a member of an evangelical Christian Church, which Dobson describes as "almost universally pro-life," and has been active in Texas Right to Life (an anti-abortion group).
On October 12th, Bush took a few questions about the Miers nomination at the White House. He was asked why the White House thinks it important to point out that Miers attends a conservative Christian church. His answer was:
"People are interested to know why I picked Harriet Miers. They want to know Harriet Miers' background. They want to know as much as they possibly can before they form opinions. Part of Harriet Meiers' life is her religion...."
This direct statement of the relevance of Miers' religion to Bush's nomination of her to the Supreme Court evidences the Bush White House's hypocrisy on these matters. For the Bush quote, the Dobson exchange, and further discussions of this issue, see the Washington Post's blog on the Supreme Court nomination.
Now everyone will recall that whenever liberals have been concerned about nominations for judicial seats based on fear that a person's religious beliefs may dictate that person's decisions as a judge, which would subvert the Constitution and rule of law, those on the right have argued that such questions are inappropriate. Interestingly, now the right is talking about Miers' faith as a reason for supporting her nomination--the discussion suggests that faith is seen as an assurance that Miers will vote the way the right wing wants the Court to vote on issues of importance to their religious faith, including their views against abortion and against the equal rights of gay and lesbians members of our communities. For a well-written discussion of this issue, see the release by Americans United for Separation of Church and State linked here.
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