Oct. 22, 2005
 
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Want Someone Really Qualified? Nominate Hechler for U.S. Supreme Court!
 
Dear Editor: On MSNBC I listened to a respected supporter of Harriet Miers for the U.S. Supreme Court. She said that Miers was “well qualified and has a varied array of life experiences.” Well, we all have a varied array of life experiences.
 
So if we’re going to choose someone for the Supreme Court because he or she has a varied array of life experiences, then Huntington has a resident that would be an excellent candidate for the high court.
 
His name is Ken Hechler. Unlike Miers, he has left quite a written record. He worked on President Franklin Roosevelt’s staff editing speeches. Hechler interviewed Nazi war criminals Hermann Goering, Admiral Doenitz and others on Hitler‘s staff. He was a special assistant to President Truman. He worked with Adlai Stephenson's presidential campaign.
 
. He marched with the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at Selma, Ala. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and has been West Virginia’s Secretary of State. He’s taught at Marshall University on and off for the past 45 years.
 
Dr. Hechler is truly an American who qualifies for the Supreme Court based on his varied array of life experiences. At 91 years old, Hechler’s mind is ever bit as sharp as Miers. I urge the President to nominate Hechler when the Senate rejects Miers. Hell, he walked with 89 year old Granny D on part of her walk from California to Washington, D.C. I can't even walk across Huntington, and I'm only 53.
 
Art Harvath
Huntington, WV