Ann Coulter on the Harriet Miers Nomination

This is a partial transcript from "Hannity & COLMES:," October 12, 2005, that has been edited for clarity.

ALAN COLMES:, CO-HOST: President Bush today named the role of religion in Harriet Miers' life as a reason why he nominated the White House counsel to the Supreme Court. Is this enough to persuade conservatives critical of the president's pick?

Joining us now, the author of "How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must)," now in paperback, Ann Coulter. How are you doing, Ann?

ANN COULTER, AUTHOR, "HOW TO TALK TO A LIBERAL (IF YOU MUST)": Fine, thank you. How are you?

COLMES:: All right. You knock — in your latest piece, very amusing, you knock Harriet Miers for not going to an elite university. She goes to Southern Methodist University, while at the same time critical of liberals who — for being elitists. Democrats are elitist, but you're being elitist by saying she should have gone to an Ivy League school to get the nomination, aren't you?

COULTER: I don't think you read my column.

COLMES:: I absolutely did. I absolutely did.

COULTER: What I'm critical of is — is the White House attacking conservatives, for saying we're elitist for pointing out that Harriet Miers isn't qualified to sit on the Supreme Court.

And by the way, I'm starting to feel sort of bad about — about saying that. And I'm annoyed with George Bush for putting us in the position of having to say that.

I mean, I'm sure she's a very competent woman. She's probably in the top half of lawyers in America. She'd be competent for many, many jobs out there. But this is the Supreme Court. Why is he nominating someone — forcing us to point out that she is not Supreme Court caliber?

COLMES:: Well, you know, you also say, "Some jobs are so dirty" — this is an exact quote from your piece — "you can only send in someone who has the finally honed hatred of liberals acquired at elite universities to do them."

So there you say it's got to be an elite university. It can't be Southern Methodist University. And I guess hating liberals, Ann, is a requirement to get on the Supreme Court, right?

COULTER: It helps.

COLMES:: I see. Well, thank you for clarifying that.

COULTER: No, and by the way, that's last week's column. That's why you were confusing me. This week's column specifically attacks all of the "straw man" arguments thrown out by the administration.

COLMES:: I saw that.

COULTER: One is that it's sexism, that it's elitist, that we don't know how she's going to vote, that she wasn't a judge. That isn't the argument we're making. I mean, this is the strangest world I've entered where Republicans are arguing like liberals, coming up with these crazy straw man arguments that no one is making.

COLMES:: Yes.

COULTER: The argument is she's not qualified to sit on the Supreme Court. There's no disputing that. The hearing isn't going to change anything. And — and the White House is just digging up a hole for itself.

COLMES:: Well, you know, they don't let liberals see your column for a week. There's a week hold on it for liberals to look at them.

You also said in your earlier column, you said this: "While Bush was still boozing it up in the early '80s," you talked about Meese and Scalia and Bork and all the founders of the Federalist Society "began creating a farm team of massive legal talent."

Now if a liberal made that comment about George W. Bush, that liberal would be pilloried for suggesting something about Bush's past in that way, and yet you do it in your column.

COULTER: No. Actually, that would be pretty minor for what liberals say about Bush.

COLMES:: No.

HANNITY: Hey, Ann, welcome back to the program.

Let me ask this question, because I know it's clear now how you feel about her and about the choice and about the president for putting you in this position to have to go after them, because I know there are things you like about the president.

What if it turns out she is a steady, solid, consistent voting bloc, along with Scalia and Thomas? And what if she turns out to be an intellectual on a level — regarding the Constitution that you don't anticipate? Maybe something the president does know. Is there any possibility or any hope for you in that?

COULTER: No. And the reason I say that is, I mean, she does — there is a record there. I keep hearing people say, "Oh, let's wait and see."

She's a 60-year-old woman. We know what is in the record. We know what she's done. We know what she's accomplished. The day she was nominated, she was — her speeches were being played over and over again on C-SPAN. That's when I officially went on suicide watch.

And no. She is not an intellectual. She may be a very smart woman. And no, it wouldn't be enough if she just votes the right way.

HANNITY: One of the things...

COULTER: I don't think that's going to happen.

HANNITY: Yes.

COULTER: Because what we're looking for — I mean, this is the difference between conservatives and liberals. Liberals want justices to vote a certain way. We want a particular legal philosophy, a philosophy for how to interpret the Constitution.

There are all different cases and kinds of cases that can come up. The point is how you — how you interpret the Constitution...

HANNITY: Constitution.

COULTER: ... how you interpret laws. It's not just, "Oh, she'll vote to overrule Roe v. Wade." And I mean, by all accounts that's the one thing Bush is saying she's going to do.

HANNITY: Let's look at the president — the way he makes decisions. And over the last five years, I think we've gotten some insight into how he — how he does this. Like a Cheney, a Rummy, a Condi, a Karl Rove around him, he seems to want people around him, first and foremost, that are loyal, fiercely loyal, people that he knows he can trust. And people that share his viewpoints.

He's made some good choices, both in the courts and with the people that are closest around him. And I'm — what I'm trying to get out of you, you don't seem to hold out any possibility that he knows this woman better than all of us. Because I don't know enough about her. I'll be honest. That he knows her better than anybody else.

You don't seem to open the window for any benefit of the doubt here at all. Any — you're not even considering any hope for her.

COULTER: This isn't something that's unknowable, that only he could know but we can't figure it out. She was head of the Texas Lottery Commission, Sean. This is her big accomplishment? I mean, look at what people who are singing her praises are saying. It's embarrassing.

COLMES:: All right. We...

COULTER: The first woman to head the Texas Bar Association. Makes her own clothes. Dances well. It's embarrassing.

COLMES:: Ann, I appreciate your coming on tonight. Thank you very much.

COULTER: Thank you.

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