Posted on 10/15/2005 1:44:18 PM PDT by Cautor
I could not find statements from any prominent liberal-either inside or outside the beltway, from within the legal community or outside of that subset of thinkers-supporting the notion that Michael McConnell would not have ultimately been confirmed by the U.S. Senate, as it's currently constituted.
Having a jurist like McConnell-instead of the woefully deficient Miers-would have been worth the extra weeks-or even months-that it would have taken to facilitate his confirmation.
Not according to the evidence.
***
LOL!
I was responding to your scenario that a conservative nominee was rejected, followed by someone like Miers. Bush, it seems, wanted to nominate someone who would win, and who, having won, would vote with the other conservatives on the court, creating a reliable 5-4 majority to deal with future cases. You can disagree with him, but the logic is not as bad as those who are attacking Miers, and Bush, are suggesting with their insults and attacks.
At worst, we still end up with Miers, or someone who is, at the very least, marginally more capable-after a month or so of dithering, but with the Republican Party intact, if not stronger and more unified-and at best we end up with a Justice McConnell or Justice Williams.
We disagree.
"It is a hard case to make that Miers losing the nomination equates to the the loss of lives due to terrorism"
How many leftist decisions by a leftist court do you think it could require to undermine the GWOT? I hear you say Bush is now slave to McLame and the RINOs who joined the DEMS to form the Gang of 14. Guess that means no more conservative judges on his watch. If so, it's time for him to go.
"Let's take the worst case scenario, from your perspective.
President Bush nominates someone like Luttig, Sykes, Rodgers-Brown, Williams, or Batchelder.
They are either rejected by the Senate Judiciary Committee, voted down on the Senate floor-an unlikely scenario, but not wholly implausible-or filibustered into oblivion.
President Bush could still have withdrawn that name from consideration-after battling Democrats-and submitted the name of an extremely sub par nominee-such as Miers-and been none the worse for it.
The base would have stuck with him, and we would not be engaged in this acrimonious debate."
EXACTLY! But Dubya wimped out. Let the RINOs kick his ass like a soccer ball. Rolled over for McLame and Dewine. A real pussy. Kiss your agenda farewell Bush. Kiss any more conservative judges farewell Bush. Please go back to TX and cut some more Brush. You're finished in the world of Washington power.
Thank you for your excellent post.
How much do you want to bet that we won't see any more federalist/Constitutionalist/originalist jurists nominated for any circuit or lower court?
Or if they are, I doubt very much that the Democrats will allow them up for a vote, using the Miers standard, of course.
Mark my words, Bush has, proverbially speaking, jumped the shark, and his administration ain't coming back.
"Personally, I think McClellan is great for the job."
He epitomizes exactly where this administration has now strayed. Bush now finds himself beholding to John McCain and such for any future judicial picks he might make. so he and Scott will from now on being in the position of explaining their weakness. We saw Cheney humble himself yesterday on the Hume show trying to cover this idiot decision by bush to put his crony on the SCOTUS.
"The Miers debacle marks the nadir of his presidency, with regard to domestic policy.
How much do you want to bet that we won't see any more federalist/Constitutionalist/originalist jurists nominated for any circuit or lower court?
Or if they are, I doubt very much that the Democrats will allow them up for a vote, using the Miers standard, of course."
Your comments are worth repeating in full. For all those who say Bush is too weak to overcome the current Republican dominated Senate, too weak to beat back the RINOs in the Gang of 14, too weak to defeat Kennedy and Leahy, too weak to stand up to Pelosi and Reid, I say this guy is finished. Do you hear me? He's FINISHED? Washington is all about power. Bush wimped out. All that "bring it on" bravado was just so much BS from the son of another presidential wimp, old "read my lips" daddy Bush. And to think I once held this guy in such high regard.
Stick a fork in him, he's done.
Mark my words, Bush has, proverbially speaking, jumped the shark, and his administration ain't coming back.
There are half a dozen in the Senate right now. Two out of Committee, four in committee. One of those 4 is a shoo-in, but the other 3 are hot potatos.
It's GOP leadership that is not bringing them up for a vote, for the same reason the SCOTUS nomination is meek.
Hogwash.
"Hogwash."
Thank you for your vaporous commentary.
I think you're right, but there is an out if the president's handlers are smart enough to take it.
This 'third way' approach of talking like a conservative but governing (domestically) like a big government liberal is now dead. He may be able to ram through more foreign policy things, but domestically, he is becoming a lame duck.
The past two weeks illustrate a way for him to accomplish something in his last 3+ years in office. It shows that the true political fire comes from the conservative base - they are still about ideas and accountability. The left is nothing but wacky theories and 'anybody but bush'. The middle, well, they'll never lead. The "Party over principles" squad in the republican party had the reigns but have squandered it domestically.
So, if they're smart, and Miers said GWB is the most brilliant man she's ever known, they'll pick up on this. Drop the lame 'compassionate' conservative bunk that is just big government with another name. Start picking up true conservative ideas that fire up the base - cutting spending, changing the tax code, reforming social security, securing the borders.
Big, daring, limited-government ideas that will get the base behind them again and help them accomplish great things. That's about the only way they'll find themselves getting anywhere.
This isn't just about the miers pick - the pick was just the last straw. If he wants to be effective anymore, he'll have to stop working for the democrats and start working for the conservatives in his party.
The whole bunch of them, Preident Bush and the Senate leadership, hope that the people just forget the niminees are languishing. Specter won't hold hearings because that would get attention, etc.
This is such a contrived "easy way out," all because the DEMs had the balls to abuse cloture, and the GOP was too stupid to figure out the rhetoric that gets them out of it.
I figured out some rhetoric, and got it past my 10 year old. Basic fairness is not hard for people to get ahold of, but politicians are not about basic fairness. They are so far into deal and king making that "fairness" is a foreign notion to them.
My old boss had a bookkeeper for 25 years who was his best friend, even a Godparent to his children. Guess what, she was stealing(to the tune of 500K) behind his back the whole time.
IOW some people are not good a judging other people, even their good friends!
Yours was full of air.
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