Miers Withdraws
President Bush has "reluctantly" accepted Harriett Miers' request to withdraw her nomination to the Supreme Court.
Not surprising after all that's gone on. But now we go back to my original question about what happens if Miers failed - what's next?
Ugh.
[Update: Bush statement here, noting that "It is clear that Senators would not be satisfied until they gained access to internal documents concerning advice provided during her tenure at the White House - disclosures that would undermine a President's ability to receive candid counsel." Miers's letter is here: she notes that she feels "the confirmation process presents a burden for the White House and our staff that is not in the best interest of our country."
Indictments will completely end the Miers story when they happen - will a replacement nominee then eclipse the indictments? -- 9:09 a.m.]
[Update: CNN reports Fitzgerald has said there will be no announcement today. -- 9:12 a.m.]
[Update: The Wall Street Journal has a good running commentary on the latest Miers-developments, including some responses from Democrats which I found quite intriguing. As I expected, they seem likely to take advantage of the conservative opposition to Miers which scuttled her nomination and remain ready for anything when the next one comes. I think they played this pretty smart ... much smarter than the Administration, at any rate. -- 11:56 a.m.]
posted by JBD @ 9:03 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
I know that there's the high possibility Bush the Lesser will now go with a more prominent and more hardcore conservative judicial pick: the Scalia he'd promised the far right oh so long ago. But let's face facts: we are in a Republican-majority government, and Roe V. Wade is gonna be toast sooner or later. An overwhelmingly conservative court is an inevitibility at this point in history.
The objection to the Miers nomination, for me, was her level of competency to work as an expert of law the way a judge should. She's shown more experience as an office manager than a legal expert. And with each passing day of her ordeal, she couldn't prove herself: that underwhelming questionnaire from last week was the final clincher.
We can hope that Bush finds a judicial nominee with relevant experience to serve on the Court. We can hope that the pick is acceptable to the far right as well as the moderates: someone like Roberts, who shows signs of being more of a Rehnquist (conservative AND mindful of precedence) than a Scalia (conservative BUT activist). Here's hoping...
What is clear to me is that while the far right wing of the republican party is rabidly anti-abortion, they are clearly pro-cannibalism, for their actions on this nomination shows they will eat their young without hesitation.
This will now be known forever as the Krauthammer Manuever since he was the one who publicly proposed the phony document fight.
I think we will end up with someone more conservative. I fear that the more moderate compromise choices will now be scared away. I don't know who on the Far Right wish list will put up with the senatorial proctoscope.
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