Laura Bush says sexism possible in Miers criticism

By Tabassum Zakaria

COVINGTON, Louisiana (Reuters) - First lady Laura Bush joined her husband in defending his nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday and said it was possible some critics were being sexist in their opposition to Harriet Miers.

"That's possible, I think that's possible," Mrs. Bush said when asked on NBC's "Today Show" whether criticism that Miers lacked intellectual heft were sexist in nature. She said Miers' accomplishments as a lawyer were a role model to young women.

...

Mrs. Bush, who had publicly supported the nomination of a woman to the high court, noted that Miers had been president of the Texas Bar Association.

"I know Harriet well, I know how accomplished she is, I know how many times she's broken the glass ceiling herself. She is a role model for young women around our country," she said.

(more)http://reuters.myway.com/article/20051011/2005-10-11T124705Z_01_SCH145937_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-USA-COURT-BUSH-DC.html

Wait... Did Laura just accuse the GOPers in the Senate of being SEXIST?!?

This is a beautiful day for politics.

There may be an element of sexism, but Miers is also unqualified. Two facts can be true.

n/t

Oh Laura honey, take another Xanex.

I've said it before, I'll say it again.

Miers was thrown to the wolves. The wolves will eat. Then when the real candidate is picked, the Bushies can point to how mean everyone was and how nobody wants Democracy and Justice to work yatter yatter yatter.

There's not one member of that clan who should be allowed to utter another syllable.

It's a sign of how bad things are.

Remember when she talked about the Smear Boaters' claims by saying that her Georgie gets a lot of unfair criticism, and that there must be something to the Boaters' criticism (same thing Dole and Poppy coughed up, by the way)?

That's just one example. Laura trots right out whenever they need her, because she's the pretty, smiling face of the ghouls. And for that, she's as bad as the rest of them, as far as I'm concerned.

I agree that Harriet has done very well. I admire the fact that she became head of her law firm and head of the Texas Bar Assn. Those are great accomplishments for a woman... great accomplishments for any attorney but especially for a woman.

But I don't for a second believe any of the criticism of this nomination is based on gender. Get a grip, Laura.

position. That's a ridiculous accusation for Laura Bush to make when there are legitimate concerns about Miers qualifications to sit on the SC.

Gonzales is latino! It's racism!
Condi is black! It's racism!
Pryor is Catholic! It's religious persecution!

The right has this odd belief that criticism of anyone who belongs to a minority or previously persecuted group can't possibly be VALID criticism based on nothing more than their positions on issues.

What a bunch of horror people they are --they are Racist to the core and yet will point to Condi as their idea of a Black Woman Who Represents Her Race. ..Ha

Laura, dear, me thinks thou dost protest too much.

And frankly I'm sick of hearing how Harriet broke barriers against women. She is single with no kids and no other obligations. No maternity leave, no kids with croup, no two week vacations from school 3 times a year to contend with, no parent teacher conferences, no school plays to attend.

Plenty of other women really did break through barriers. Stop playing this as if she's some incredible pioneer.

someone had to say it.

Since some of Harriet's most vocal critics have been Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin, and a few of your most favorite religious right spokespersons, if you want to accuse them of sexism, you go right ahead.

see what you mean.

never get married and suck up to the alpha male now that`s a role model i want my daughter to follow..thanks laura.

oh by the way laura, what the hell happened to your darling daughters?

I always confuse the two.

I would not mind anyone with a broad sense of experience, high intellect, curious nature, and one whose life have been marked with tough, learning experiences. That means successes and failures, by definition.

My biggest complaint is what she has done for the last 10 yrs of her life, ignoring her extremely late-age conversion to some flat earth society religious group.
Being the diaper changer for George Bush gives me no comfort at all. that is not experience one needs for being one of nine leaders on the highest court in the country.

Her nomination is an insult, a threat, and a serious mistake, even ignoring her position on abortion etc.

I have many friends who are against abortion. But, they are friends, they are intelligent and they see my point, (that being that guys should not tell gals what to do with their bodies- it is their choice, not mine) I even trust many of their judgments and analysis. We agree to disagree. They have earned that position of respect, salted with some fun political talks and disagreements. Would some of them be suited for the bench or higher office? Yeah. Absolutely. Would they set aside their own judgment and do their jobs fairly? most likely.

Would harriet miers? I do not think so. She is a paid, political hatchet person, feeding the ego of one man, and one man only.

only be President for another 3 years, being a Supreme Court justice is a lifetime job. It bothers me that she's possibly so in awe of the dipshit ("you're so cool") that he will continue to pull her strings even after he's left the Oval Office.

eom

Next thing, you'll be telling me that the sky is blue, water is wet, Repukes are corrupt . . .

It's sexism to assume that this it the best FEMALE SC nominee we could come up with.

Miers MAY be accomplished in her field, but that doesn't make her SC material. Put another way, my OBGYN is one of the most accomplished doctors in her field - but I wouldn't go to her with an ear infection. (no jokes about how I got the ear infection please :))

and call other people sexist?
Touting Mier's subservience and blind allegiance is one of the most sexist and degrading comments to women ever issued forth.
The real danger in her appointment is that she has had no response to these declarations. She is on a short leash indeed.

Repugs are against affirmative action, but offer us an unqualified nominee who happens to be a woman, and it's sexist to criticize the choice.

Amazing.

I'm not sexist...I truly believe that neocon women can be as stupid as neocon men. :spank:

...liberals are going to be united against this thug administration.

Seriously, this is hysterical.

Does Laura realize that the strongest opponents against Meiers are CONSERVATIVES...really hard-right conservatives???

I'm sure they'll be ecstatic to hear that this administration is throwing up red herrings, instead of taking responsibility for the fact that George nominated one of his best-girlfriends for the Supreme Court.

Sexism is usually unearthed and spotlighted--by liberals.

I can't even imagine how much hard-right conservatives appreciate that Laura is attacking those who oppose Meiers with criticism that is ordinarily thrown out by liberals. Conservatives must think that BushCo has gone off the deep end and into the abyss.

Laura, shut the fuck up and stop trying to be something you are not, which is informed.

colossal racist paranoid failure*.

Oh, puhleeeze... snap on your pearls and do some dishes, Miz Laura.

her/Jr a boost--and chill the climate of the critics.

a disturbing, Stepford clone. All facade and no depth.

And I honestly don't think any of Harry's critics will give a rat's banana what Laura says.
Mostly because.... many of those people are inherently sexist (as in Schlafy's and Dobson's view of women) and as such, DO NOT SEE that they are sexist. None of them would oppose Janice Rogers Brown or the other really conservative women whose names are on "the list."

Besides, none of the reasons given by the RW opposition involve sexism.
All the reasons involve Laura's husband inability to make a solid decision when it comes to placing cronies in position. Not to mention, Harry's never been a judge. Which has nothing to do with her sex.

"I know Harriet well, I know how accomplished she is, I know how many times she's broken the glass ceiling herself. She is a role model for young women around our country,"

I'm a woman and the only sexism I detect is where Lotto lady is against womens rights over their bodies - abortion.

Bush needs to go back to her Niquil addiction, from years of enabling her pathetic patriarch.

around our country. "I know Laura as well as I want to. In fact, I know Laura much better than I ever wanted to. I'm glad I have no daughters for her to influence."

anyone who says george bush is a brilliant man, like Miers did, does lack intellectual heft. How many times did Miers "break the glass ceiling" Laura? The glass ceiling has been broken to a point but certainly not by Miers. It was done by the feminist movement that the conservatives hate so much. Miers has been nominated because she calls bush brilliant, among other things.

:eyes:

What do you think of them apples, Laura?

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Peace.

Impossible I tell you! :sarcasm:


(Not unheard of in the left wing either, but not as main stream)

Conservatives such as Santorum keep woman pregnant and barefoot?

I'm convinced the woman has gone and lost her mind. If there is any discrimination based her Harriet's gender it won't be the democrats who do the discriminating.

so she wont be married to a War Criminal.

not because she is SUPREMELY UNFIT TO BE ANY KIND OF JUDGE, LET ALONE A SUPREME COURT JUDGE.

the Right must then be sexist, right?

Just like it was racist to point out what a light weight Clarence Thomas was when Poppy nominated him.

:eyes:

:sarcasm:

I can't tell, but she may have been talking about the conservatives critics instead of the liberal ones. That's interesting.

By the way, where are your daughters and what are they doing? Teaching in an inner city school? helping with locating missing children from Hurricane Katrina? Where are they pickles???? Is Miers their role model??

The other 98% of the time, women (ALL women) should be pregnant and fundamentalist, according to the GOP.

A republican accusing the left of sexism is like a Nazi accusing a Jew of persecution.

POwell was more accomplished. But the differences are not great. And could too be explained in part by glass ceilings.

cockamamie cojones for a change.

You dumb ass!

I would your husband. Equality for all.

unless you then extrapolate to claim that that proves all persons of that gender are idiots. Individuals can be excoriated without institutionalizing sexism.

Harriet Miers must be a strong advocate of vehicular manslaughter

A pathetic statement from the President's wife.
Ask Laura to explain the strong support for Janice Rogers-Brown, Priscilla Owen, and Karen Williams.

9 posted on 10/11/2005 8:23:08 AM CDT by jla

To: Acts 2:38
While I think Meirs deserves a chance to at least have her day with the Senate, Laura Bush doesn't help her cause by calling Ms. Meirs critics sexist. I expect that from the Nancy Pelosis, Barbara Boxers and Hitlerys of the left, not the First Lady.

10 posted on 10/11/2005 8:23:29 AM CDT by ABG

To: Acts 2:38
It sounds as though President Bush is surrounded by women who advocate for affirmative action (Condi and, of course, Harriet Miers).

As someone wrote the other day, when people can't argue against your position they often resort to name-calling. It's unfortunate that Laura Bush has chosen to diminish her stature by mischaracterizing legitimate opposition to this embarrassing nomination by delegitimizing Miers' opponents.

I suppose that Michelle Malkin, Laura Ingraham and Ann Coulter, to name three high-profile opponents of the Miers nomination, are just sexist pigs.

Is this really the best way for President Bush to spend his political capital?

12 posted on 10/11/2005 8:24:52 AM CDT by Piranha

To: Acts 2:38
Mrs. Bush, who had publicly supported the nomination of a woman
Thank God you are not president , Mrs. Bush.

Laura Bush is a sexist for eliminating 50% of the most qualified candidates by making this ludicrous statement. Laura, you are a sexist and poor decision maker. By all accounts, Michael Luttig probably had the best "legal mind"--Michael is a male, Laura.

Laura is no better than George--they both are poor decision makers.


14 posted on 10/11/2005 8:26:06 AM CDT by Dont_Tread_On_Me_888


To: Acts 2:38
"Kinda sounds like the Dems when they charge Republicans hate children when they oppose federally funded school lunches...or want to kill Seniors when they oppose new entilements."

Thanks - that's exactly what I was thinking. Sounds like the hypocritical invert-think that the RATS use on a regular basis. Particularly galling when it was Queen Laura who demanded a female be appointed to replace a female - but I guess sexism is okay when it's directed against men, huh?


24 posted on 10/11/2005 8:29:56 AM CDT by Pravious


To: Acts 2:38
I'm starting to see a pattern here when a Bush gets in high office.


28 posted on 10/11/2005 8:30:24 AM CDT by stevio


To: Acts 2:38
All of us out here who wanted a Priscilla Owens, Janice Rogers Brown, Edith Jones, Edith Brown Clement, etc are all sexist. Makes sense to me.

35 posted on 10/11/2005 8:36:04 AM CDT by Ragnorak


To: irons_player
FLOTUS should read Federalist Paper 76 for Hamilton's definition of cronyism. Miers fits all three.

36 posted on 10/11/2005 8:36:25 AM CDT by massgopguy

To: ABG(anybody but Gore)
So now Mrs. Bush is calling those who oppose Miers ...sexist.
No we just think it was a bad pick.

37 posted on 10/11/2005 8:36:38 AM CDT by Dog

To: Acts 2:38
The White House is in chaos....I can't believe they have Laura Bush spouting off this crap on the Today show....
Just what is going on over there?


40 posted on 10/11/2005 8:37:08 AM CDT by ContemptofCourt

To: Acts 2:38
Laaura might just have well said, "Its a vast right wing Conservative agenda"...

47 posted on 10/11/2005 8:40:15 AM CDT by cynicom

To: Acts 2:38
This charge is silly. And I say that as someone who has been arguing on the side of Miers for days now. The fact is, most of Miers' conservative critics would love to see Priscilla Owen.

C'mon, Laura. Get with the program.

48 posted on 10/11/2005 8:40:21 AM CDT by samtheman

And this is just a sampling. They're up to 400 posts on this thread.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1500406/posts