Posted on 10/20/2005 1:27:08 PM PDT by Stellar Dendrite
The Miers Support Team: Gloomy and Demoralized Now they’re discussing stopping her visits to the Senate.
Strategists working with the White House in support of the Supreme Court nomination of Harriet Miers are becoming increasingly demoralized and pessimistic about the nomination's prospects on Capitol Hill in the wake of Miers's meetings with several Republican and Democratic senators. On a conference call held this morning, they even discussed whether Miers should simply stop visiting with lawmakers, lest any further damage be done — and so that time spent in such get-acquainted sessions will not cut into Miers's intensive preparation for her confirmation hearing.
The strategists discuss issues on a twice-weekly conference call led by Leonard Leo, the executive vice president of the Federalist Society who has taken leave to help the White House shepherd the nomination through the Senate. A number of people who have taken part in the calls described the conversations to National Review Online. None wanted to be identified, because they do not want to openly oppose the White House or defy loyalists like Leo who are trying hard to defend Miers. Nevertheless, they paint a grim portrait of morale among those close to the nomination.
"The number of participants is declining," says one knowledgeable source. "With Roberts, these calls occurred five or six or seven times a week. Pretty early on, the calls on Miers were scaled back to twice a week. That says something in and of itself."
"It's been a gradual descent into almost silence," says a second source of the calls. "The meetings with the senators are going terribly. On a scale of one to 100, they are in negative territory. The thought now is that they have to end....Obviously the smart thing to do would be to withdraw the nomination and have a do-over as soon as possible. But the White House is so irrational that who knows? As of this morning, there is a sort of pig-headed resolve to press forward, cancel the meetings with senators if necessary, and bone up for the hearings."
"They are going to be keeping the meetings that they've already scheduled," says a third source. "But they have scheduled murder boards today from 12 to 5. She has to focus on her hearing. And the questionnaire that wasn't filled out, to me that's an indication [the White House] hasn't done the vetting. She has to spend a lot of time discussing stuff that should have been done before. So between those two things — finishing the questionnaire and preparing for the hearing, which is going to be make or break — they prefer to put her time into that."
"In the early days, there were people on the call who tried to give facile defenses of Miers, and they were immediately shot down," says a fourth source. "And by the way, those defenses weren't as insulting as the White House line — no way would they have done the 'sexist, elitist' line."
In summary, says the first source, "People have been looking for ways to support this. There are a lot of us who would like to find a reason to be encouraged. Every time I try to accommodate myself to this nomination, folks at the White House say idiotic things that piss me off, like that spin on Rove's part about her supposed deep involvement in judicial selection for three years, which is just not accurate."
"Demoralization and pessimism?" the source continues. "That's been a constant. We're in the various stages of grief."
Given her responses to the questionnaire, the best I'm hoping for is that she doesn't actually drool.
LOL!
I suggest a long lost relative with a mystery illness that requires the long term commitment by Ms. Miers as a care giver.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/nation/stories/100405dnnatmiers.bab1b698.html
Reflections of a Lawyer-Politician (Dallas Morning News)
Her work-study job had given her experience as a data processor in the fledgling computer field, but she wanted a "more people-oriented' career. She was qualified to teach, but found her student-teaching at W.W. Samuell High School "very sobering . . . I had some very bad experiences during that semester.
So she did take education classes at SMU as an undergraduate. That (those ed classes) may have been where she met Laura Bush. Hmm.
My gal Edith Jones has the roadmap for overturning Roe. A pity she is not on the court. For that I blame the Sununu and his pal.
Well, I'm not someone that started out supporting Meirs and jumped ship. I've been against from the start. However, judging by the second FR poll re: Meirs it seems most of the people content with the "Trust Me" campaign are still onboard. The real movement seems to be among the people that were undecided or chose to wait for the hearings. They seem to be breaking hard against her confirmation on the board.
Jones was considered for the Souter seat?
Which response makes you think she will be drooling?
I read the questionnaire in it's entirety. Having done that I can only conclude you didn't read the questionnaire or you are full of crap. Correct me if I'm wrong though.
It was Edith or Souter, the rest is history.
I mean, what if... the President gave her no option but to answer yes to the question of whether or not she would accept the nomination, and if she has a sick relative and needs a high paying job with good benefits to support that relative-- she may feel she has an obligation to the relative or to the president or both to accept the nomination. I have read elsewhere that her mother is still living and about 90 years old. Or some other similar scenario. At her age, I don't know if it is a given that it would be a shoo in for her to resign and find a position in private practice.
I am just saying that without the full story, I am not necessarily inclined to hold Miers personally responsible for all of the problems with this... situation.
Can someone translate this, please?
Texas Ranger Bill McDonald, so one version goes, was sent to Dallas to stop an illegal prize fight and the crime and violence that went with it. He was met at the train station by the mayor who asked, "Where are the rest of the rangers?"
McDonald, in true Ranger fashion, answers back, "Hell, Ain't I enough? There's only one prize fight."
The mayor had screamed for a company.
After awhile, it got itself whittled down to, "One riot. One Ranger."
Another of his enshrined sayings is, "No man in the wrong can stand up against a fellow that's in the right and keeps on a-comin'." Its even engraved on his tombstone. Think Captain Woodrow Call (Lonesome Dove) on steroids.
I think the only thing that would make it even distantly plausible is this situation with the "gang of 14."
I did write only "intriguing," not "likely." ;-)
He would have been better off if he had spent the day poking sticks at hornets' nests.
Well and succinctly put.
It not only is proving a humiliation for the White House and Ms Miers, it is an unforgivable abuse of the aforesaid trust, faith, and obedient loyalty.
And for that reason, a lot of permanent damage has already been done.
Something very, very strange is going on in the White House. There are several possible explanations for this, and none of them are good.
;-) (-:
Yeah. That 1991 article provides another window. Ms. Miers was one year ahead of Laura, so it's not clear if or how they associated during their time at school. BUt some FReeper posed that SMU very efectively promoted networking of its own students, wehreby if one student "makes it," other SMU grads are given preferential treatment in hiring, promotion and retention.
It's a CULT! ROTFL.
Oh, I think we'll get that. If not, I won't switch sides, but I won't have much to say.
What she can't do is talk about issues on which she will cast a vote. If she talks, except indirectly, she makes it real tough for the next nominee Bush sends forward.
Buy stock in Alcoa or Reynolds Aluminum. I've been using their foil products regularly to try to block the bizarre explanations that my brain was coming up with.
Do you know where I might get a package of Occam's razorblades?
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