Has anyone considered that the consternation being voiced by Conservatives is a smokescreen to sow confusion and that Miers' views are actually to the right of right?

"The way that John Roberts came out yesterday against states rights must assuage their fears somewhat"

Huh?  Conservatives generally support states rights.

Huh?  Conservatives generally support states rights.

Actual conservatives may they support states rights, but the Bush Conservatives like Scalia have been pretty consistent in their inconsistancy on states rights.  Gun policy versus drug policy.  Mining right versus voting rights.

Huh?  Conservatives generally support states rights. 

whatever they are, the current crowd don't match historical definitions of conservive.

From over at Daily Kos we have this latest update on “the Gospel according to Dobson:”

... "I'm getting calls from members of Congress saying 'tell us your take on this, we're not sure what we think of Harriet Miers.’” He then admitted "It was leaked to the media that I've had conversations with Karl Rove and the White House, which is true.” 
..."There is so much in the balance [with this nominee], there is no way to put it into words . . .”  Because of that, Dobson is begging the Lord: "If this is not the person you want on that Supreme Court, all you have to do is tell me so, and do it through any means you want to.”

 He finally then discussed why he is supporting Miers, saying “I can't reveal it all, because I do know things that I'm privy to that I can't describe, because of confidentiality.” He then states that Miers “is a deeply committed Christian” and that people who know her have all told him that “she will not be a disappointment.”  

"I believe in trusting this president and this time because of the stand that he has taken and the way he has implemented it consistently for four and a half years.  When you put that with all the other information that I have been able to gather - and you'll have to trust me on this one - when you know some of the things that I know, that I probably shouldn't know, that take me in this direction, you will understand why I have said, with fear and trepidation, why I have said why I believe that Harriet Miers will be a good justice.”

He then states that "if I have made a mistake here ... the blood of those babies that will die will be on my hands, to some degree.  And that's why is has weighed so heavily on me” before telling the right wing to let the confirmation process play out and not undermine Miers before the hearings.

The accumulating info. is beginning to suggest that she is indeed a stealth right-winger, but will she recover?  And does the Admin. care?  In a pair of posts earlier this week, I suggest that they do not.  In addition to the reasons put forth there, here's another:  the timing is off.  With the Jewish holidays, this is a relatively slow week in D.C., which is going to be followed by Congress adjourning for a week.  Thus, there is relatively little push-back to the echo-chamber of concerns re:  Miers.  If her nomination sits out there for two weeks with people questioning her credentials and expressing concern about her political views, she may be dead in the water.
 
My money remains on the link of this nomination to the Plame scandal.  It's not necessarily that she was involved, but that they had to get her out there in front of it.  If the investigation fizzles, and Miers is dangling out there for the next week and a half, she may be heading south.  If someone gets indicted, however, there may be just enough distraction for Miers to slip through.  And if she does go down in flames, and the Admin. Is not further wounded by the outcome of the Plame investigation, my money is on Gonzales getting the nod.

It just seems to me that they put Miers out there in a slow news period without prepping their base, and have not been aggressively working the press with the appropriate number and caliber of surrogates. 


Something is rotten in the state of Washington, D.C.

That was back in the old days, when they didn't control the federal government.

"That was back in the old days, when they didn't control the federal government."

Yeah, I think there is a lot of hypocracy in their positions.  I think they let their abhorance of assisted suicide overcome their principled stand for federalism, in this case.

Am I the only one who is sick of both parties' Machiavellian thinking and tactics on court nominees? Both Republicans and Democrats are dishonoring the Court and the country.

The interaction between qualifications and ideology in the world beyond the bizarroland that is Washington, DC is that qualifications come first. Nobody wastes time worrying about what an unqualified candidate thinks or might do if hired, because they aren't hired. They aren't even interviewed. If there ever was a job for which qualifications matter it surely is supreme court justice.

Miers is obviously unqualified, so "Thank you for your interest in Supreme Court career opportunities Ms. Miers." But no thanks.

The interaction between qualifications and ideology in the world beyond the bizarroland that is Washington, DC is that qualifications come first. Nobody wastes time worrying about what an unqualified candidate thinks or might do if hired, because they aren't hired.

Well, point more or less taken I guess, but you must not have worked in some of the companies I've worked for.

Perhaps its not surprising that Ann Coulter has also come out against Miers, given she wasn't a Roberts cheerleader either. What's shocking in her latest diatribe, however, is her sentiment that Bush has no right to say "trust me", and that he wasn't reelected to be 'dictator for eight years'! Yikes - next thing ya know Rush will start telling the truth, Bill O'Reilly will admit everything Media Matters says about him is true, and Sean Hannity will admit he's a friggin' idiot.

http://www.hairytruth.blogspot.com

...you're THAT Jack Balkin...the Yale con law one (Georgetown law student kicks self in head, realizing not only that he knows who you are but knows you're probably the third-best known con law prof in the country after Erwin Chemerinsky and Laurence Tribe...)

And I also found the data on your blog.