Tancredo 1st in GOP to oppose Miers

The Coloradan says Miers doesn't have the resume and won't be able to sway others on the high court.
By Anne C. Mulkern
Denver Post Staff Writer

Washington - Colorado's Tom Tancredo on Wednesday became the first Republican in Congress to oppose President Bush's choice of Harriet Miers for the Supreme Court, saying in scathing comments that she lacks credentials and ability.

"She is apparently not the intellectual powerhouse that we could have put on the court," said Tancredo, R-Littleton. "I do believe it was a mistake."

While Miers likely would be a conservative vote, she lacks the ability to influence the court beyond her vote, Tancredo said, adding, "That is really disappointing."

As a U.S. House member, Tancredo has no vote in Miers' confirmation. Some Republicans in the Senate who would have a vote have expressed concern about the nomination - including Sam Brownback of Kansas, John Thune of South Dakota and Trent Lott of Mississippi - but have stopped short of opposing the choice.

Colorado Republican Sen. Wayne Allard, who stated his support for John Roberts on the day he was nominated for chief justice, has not endorsed Miers.

"The senator was more familiar with his résumé and his record and his work," Allard spokeswoman Angela de Rocha said of Roberts, noting that the Senate had already approved him as an appeals-court judge.

"She (Miers) hasn't gone through the formal approval process in the Senate before," De Rocha said.

Told about Tancredo's comments, Allen Abney, a spokesman for President Bush, said: "The president believes that (Miers) is someone who has the qualifications, the experience and the judgment needed for the nation's highest court.

"As people who don't know her get to know her, they will recognize that she is exactly the kind of person we need on the Supreme Court."
Tancredo said that with Miers' nomination, "the Democrats may have more ammunition than we would have otherwise afforded them."

"If we have to fight on this one, I'm not sure it's worth it," he added. "What are the credentials? (Dallas) City Council, head of the (Texas) Lottery Commission, apparently a competent lawyer, but that's a far cry from being a competent jurist."

Another Colorado Republican, Rep. Joel Hefley of Colorado Springs, trusts the president on the choice, said spokeswoman Kim Sears.

Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, R-Fort Morgan, said in a statement that "Ms. Miers is new to me, and I am currently reviewing her record, but I hope the Senate will hold fair and timely hearings like they did with Justice Roberts and that she will receive an up-or-down vote."

Rep. Bob Beauprez, R-Arvada, doesn't know enough about Miers to comment on her, Beauprez spokesman Jordan Stoick said. Beauprez endorsed Roberts after his nomination.