Miers Had Stormy Tenure at Texas Lottery

[dhinojosa]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5318713,00.html

Monday October 3, 2005 7:01 PM

By LIZ AUSTIN

Associated Press Writer

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Harriet Miers proved to be a tough, no-nonsense administrator during her five years heading the Texas Lottery Commission, firing two executive directors to stamp out scandal but leaving unexpectedly amid lagging sales and player interest. One of those firings stirred up questions about whether political influence helped George W. Bush avoid active duty in Vietnam.

President Bush tapped Miers on Monday for the Supreme Court, a nomination that prompted closer scrutiny of Miers' years in Texas as a private attorney, a member of the Dallas City Council and chairwoman of the three-member commission that oversees the state's lottery operations.

``Although she's a small-framed woman, we all believed she came through the Marines and maybe ate nails for breakfast because she's one tough cookie,'' said Horace Taylor, a former lottery employee who worked for Miers.

Then-Gov. George W. Bush appointed Miers to a six-year-term on the commission shortly after he was elected governor in 1994. After she'd been on the job 18 months, news surfaced that the lottery director's boyfriend had been employed as a consultant for GTECH, the lottery's main contractor.

[NoBushAndCo]

1. Her Nomination to SCOTUS Sucks!

[UpInArms]

2. related: Miers Led Bid to Revisit Abortion Stance (ABA to not support

women's rights)

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=558&e=10&u=/ap/20051003/ap_on_go_su_co/scotus_miers_abortion

President Bush's choice to fill the seat of retiring Supreme Court Justice and moderate abortion rights supporter
Sandra Day O'Connor was a leader in an unsuccessful fight to get the nation's largest lawyers' group to reconsider its pro-abortion rights stance.

As president of the Texas State Bar in 1993, Harriet Miers urged the national American Bar Association to put the abortion issue to a referendum of the group's full membership. She questioned at the time whether the ABA should "be trying to speak for the entire legal community" on an issue that she said "has brought on tremendous divisiveness" within the ABA.

Miers was among a group of lawyers from the Texas bar and elsewhere who had argued that the ABA should have a neutral stance on abortion.

The ABA's policy-making body overwhelmingly rejected the Texas lawyers' group's 1993 proposal to put the issue to a referendum by mail of the ABA's then-roster of about 360,000 members.

"Our current position (in favor of abortion rights) has no meaning unless it is endorsed in fact by the membership," Miers said at the time.

...more...

[WhiteTara]

4. and Reid's suck up to her sucks even

more. Harry Reid is a pitiful creature and his actions of late remind me of a basset hound who gets kicked alot.

[Jane Austin]

5. I think Harry Reid is a lot smarter than you give him credit for,

and there is method to his actions.

Our being the minority party in Congress and having no power in the Executive Branch makes for a bad situation.

Harry Reid is making the best of a bad situation.

He's got the Republicans fighting amongst themselves, while taking away their constant meme that we Dems will trash anyone bushCo nominates.

[WhiteTara]

8. I hope you are right! n/t

[Jane Austin]

11. Me, too!

Because it's hard to imagine Reid could be as ham-handed as that press briefing looked. :)

[alfredo]

12. Yeah, if the Dems like her, she must be bad.

Reid may have made a great political play.

[0007]

10. I'd bet even money that Reid doesn't vote for her. He stirred up

the hornet nest for sure with the right wing nuts.

This woman is carrying way too much baggage and when it comes out how close she is to junior, she'll be filibustered.

[Supersedeas]

3. will the Corporate media touch the Barnes GTECH Miers AWOL connection

[DoYouEverWonder]

6. So far they are ignoring it

National Propaganda Radio had an in-depth piece on her and didn't mention a thing.

[superconnected]

7. What an insult to the United States Supreme court.

No experience, just someone who helped dumb dumb stay out of Nam. What an insult.

I wonder how law schools and law professors are taking this severly inept nomination.

Fuck. How insipid can it get. What an insult.

We look to the supreme court to save us when the administration fails us. It's supposed to be a balance of power. The judges are supposed to be of far higher ilk and fairness to democracy than in any fucking court in the land. And Imbecile is putting ANY FUCKING PERSON IN THERE. What an IDIOT.

Why arent the judges in the whole fucking country rioting. See I worked at a court house and knew the judges. That was only 2 years ago. This is the biggest insult in America. They can't MISS that.

This is far beyond being corrupt and dumb. This is toooo moronic. I can't imagine any of the 10 judges I knew taking this withought a major fight no matter what political party they belong to.

[Lights_Out]

9. Dude

Whoa you guys... This chick is worse than McCain! First she was with Dukakis, then Gore, now George? tell me that this court won't be jacked up and I'll call you a liar.