More Thoughts on the Miers Nomination

Boy, the conservatives are boiling at this one. I'm a conservative, but I can't really get too upset about this nomination. I'm also kind of pragmatic, which is probably why I'm not having conniptions right now.

Many conservatives (based on what I'm reading and hearing) were spoiling for a fight, and to some extent I can understand why. The Dems embarrassed themselves in the Roberts hearings, and many were thinking that they had squandered their political capital fighting great nominee and wouldn't have much left for the next one. That could be true, but Dems are pretty good at summoning up outrage whenever they need it, and I'm sure they could have made quite a spectacle of themselves yet again.

The other issue is of course the campaign promises to nominate conservative judges. This certainly doesn't rule Miers out, since without a judicial position on her resume we really don't know how she'll rule on the matters that are important to conservatives. We can only speculate that because she was chosen by Bush, and because she had a hand in picking Roberts, that she'll be the kind of conservative justice we're all hoping for.

Anyone who thought Bush was going to nominate a white male staunch conservative like Michael Luttig or Harvey Wilkinson was clearing dreaming (sorry, Hugh). In this age of diversity and political correctness, those nominations would have guaranteed a Senate fight that would have derailed Senate business for the rest of the year. A filibuster would have been guaranteed, and frankly given the wishy-washy state of certain Northeastern Republicans, I'm not sure it could have been defeated.

One of my frequenter commenters, Denny, suggests that this pick is a sign of weakness on the part of Bush. He may be right (and it pains me to say that since Denny is pretty reliably liberal), or it simply could reflect the president's desire not to start WWIII in the Senate. One thing for sure - this nominee will likely sail through the confirmation process will much less acrimony than a judge with a long paper trail of conservative opinions.

Let's hope the GOP is not positioning itself for another 1998 (or worse a GOP version of the Dems in 1993) when the base got fed up, stayed home, and nearly handed the Congress back to the opposition. One caller this morning suggested that the Republicans are treating the conservative base in much the same way the Dems treat the blacks - they take them for granted assuming they have nowhere else to go. I don't think Bush would intentionally take that approach, but there's certainly no sign that the GOP majority in Congress has the stomach for making hard decisions regarding spending controls or cutting programs.

If the conservative base thinks their vote doesn't matter - and they're beginning to get that feeling - 2006 will be a rough year for the GOP and the country.

Technorati tags: Harriet Miers; Miers; SCOTUS