GOP senators say they need more information from Miers

WASHINGTON -- A range of influential Republican senators said yesterday that they cannot yet support Supreme Court nominee Harriet E. Miers, because they have questions about her commitment to a judicial philosophy that matches their political beliefs. The comments signaled that they would not settle for the sort of noncommittal answers that Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. gave at his confirmation hearings.

Several prominent conservatives, including Sam Brownback of Kansas and Trent Lott of Mississippi, said they would not simply take President Bush's word that Miers would take a ''strict constructionist" view of the Constitution that would place her in the company of strongly conservative justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.

Brownback, considered a possible presidential contender, said he is likely to vote against Miers unless he gets more information. Lott, the former majority leader, said there are many candidates who are ''more qualified" than Miers.

Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota, said that meant Miers's confirmation may hinge on her ability to convince conservatives of her credentials and her perspective, during what is likely to be an intense confirmation process.

''She's going to have to be pretty forthcoming at least about her judicial philosophy. She's got to sell this," Thune said. ''There are people who have bled a lot to get to this point. This is a historic opportunity to finally have an opportunity to get some right-thinking people on the Supreme Court, and we don't want to miss it."

Besides Brownback and Lott, George Allen of Virginia -- viewed as another presidential contender -- said he needs to know more about Miers before supporting her nomination. The level of criticism from leading Republican senators is a sharp contrast with the Roberts nomination, which conservatives had widely embraced from the start.

Miers's backers, however, voiced confidence that she can win over conservatives as she makes her tour through the Senate in the coming weeks. Several moderate Republicans are supporting Miers, and the Senate Democratic leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, has strongly suggested that he is in favor of her confirmation.

Some high-profile conservatives, including Senate majority leader Bill Frist of Tennessee and Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family, are standing by Bush's decision to nominate his longtime lawyer and friend.

But the criticism from the leaders of the right could become a stumbling block to what the White House had hoped would be an easy installation on the high court. The twin demands from Republicans and many Democrats -- who also are pressing for more information to determine whether Miers is too conservative -- might develop into a minefield for Miers, a former Dallas corporate lawyer who has never been a judge and who has almost no experience in wrestling with thorny questions about constitutional law.

Each question, on topics such as a person's right to privacy or due process, ''is potentially a pitfall, and each question is potentially an opportunity," said Kermit Hall, president of the State University of New York at Albany. ''It's not enough just to say, 'I believe in what the Framers say.' That's a C argument. How do you deal with those issues the Framers didn't talk about? If she retreats to the platitudes of 'originalism,' she may end up looking hollow."

Miers's backers have said that in her current job as White House counsel, she has dealt regularly with constitutional issues such as the separation of powers and the proper role of the federal government in civic life.

''The hearings will offer a good opportunity for her to lay out her philosophy," said Ken Mehlman, chairman of the Republican National Committee. ''And when she does, I think that [conservatives] will realize that she is in fact someone who, like the president, believes the job of a judge is not to legislate from the bench."

The White House sent Mehlman and his RNC predecessor, Ed Gillespie, to meet with Senate Republicans yesterday to try to quell discontent over Miers's nomination. They argued that senators should trust the president's judgment, citing Bush's record of selecting conservative judges for the federal courts.

Democratic senators, meanwhile, said they want to see documents that Miers produced as Bush's counsel in both the White House and the Texas governor's office in Austin. If the White House does not release the documents -- as Bush has suggested it will not -- this would increase Miers's burden to explain the approach she would bring to the nation's highest court, said Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont. ''I don't vote for somebody unless I have enough answers to justify in my mind voting for them," said Leahy, the highest-ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, who voted for Roberts's confirmation last week and who met with Miers yesterday.

''No Supreme Court nomination should be conducted with winks and nods," Leahy said.

Republicans are making similar points. Brownback, who is also on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said on ABC's ''Good Morning America" yesterday that there is ''precious little to go on" to determine Miers's judicial philosophy.

Brownback also said there was a ''good chance" that he would vote against her if she calls the Roe v. Wade decision establishing a constitutional right to abortion ''settled law," as Roberts did during his hearings.

He said the nomination is reminiscent of President George H. W. Bush's choice of Justice David H. Souter, a selection many conservatives consider a disappointment. ''The circumstances seem to be very similar," Brownback said.

Lott He told MSNBC that ''a lot more people . . . are more qualified" for the court. ''I'm not comfortable with the nomination, so we'll just have to work through the process in due time," he said.

Some Republicans are urging their colleagues to trust those who know Miers well. Senator John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, said Republicans shouldn't follow Democrats and ''fall into the trap" of pushing Miers to be specific about her position on issues like abortion. ''As curious as we all are about the answers . . . it's really not appropriate for nominees to stake out positions on the hot-button issues of the day," Cornyn said.