Yes, of course they will fail.
And, yes, I'm sure the Bush team knows this.
So, the only important question is, what do you think this means we should do?
I think if Bush sends up Luttig, and then McConnell, and then Alito, and then Jones, and then Estrada, and then Brown, that at the end of the cavalcade of unreasonable rejections there will be 70 Republicans in the Senate and that Bush could get his dog confirmed.
What do you think?
THANK YOU! Roll Sean Connery voice: "If they stab one of yours, you shoot one of theirs...It's the Chicago way!" In light of the White Sox win, it seems appropriate.
I think that if Bush hadn't put up Miers, he would have had a much stronger chance to push a real candidate through the Senate.
By nominating Miers, he showed weakness, unwillingness to put pressure on the RINO seven or confront the Democrats on this crucial issue. Now, regretably, he will have to prove himself from the position of weakness that he put himself into. It's like having to win a war after having tossed away the first battle.
I think he can do it, and I think he must do it. If he were to put up Gonzalez, he would totally destroy himself. If he puts up a string of conservatives, he will recover, but it will be a very hard fight at this point.
Still, there's simply no other choice.
I don't see how that would translate to 70 Republicans in the Senate, and leaving the Supreme Court vacant isn't something the President is going to do. We need to remember that even running against a liberal's liberal in 2004, Bush only won 31 states.
IMHO, he'll find another Roberts, someone who is solidly conservative but isn't a firebrand and will be acceptabl to the Democrats. I would guess it would be Jones/Clement, or perhaps someone like Consuelo Callahan. I can't imagine him not picking another woman to replace O'Connor.
I don't think Bush, nor the Senate has got the stomach for the fight we all want to see.