THE BOWTIE SPEAKS

THE BOWTIES SPEAKS [story]  And when The Bowtie George Will gets so twisted in knots about Bush’s choice of Harriet Mier’s, it is a sign perhaps the Boy Genius Karl Rove might want to sit in the corner with one of those pointy hats.  The White House so always on message that Bush should just be trusted now looks like a new confederacy of dunces.

The president's "argument" for her amounts to: Trust me.

There is no reason to, for several reasons. He has neither the inclination nor the ability to make sophisticated judgments about competing approaches to construing the Constitution. Few presidents acquire such abilities in the course of their pre-presidential careers, and this president particularly is not disposed to such reflections.

Furthermore, there is no reason to believe that Miers's nomination resulted from the president's careful consultation with people capable of such judgments.

THUS THE EPITAPH of the Bush adminstration' nomination of Miers is written by The Bowtie before he hangs it up on the tie bar for good.  George Will will be remembered fondly by all horn rimmed heroes as one who finally got it right. What is left to us now?

PREVIOUS HERETIK POSTS ON HARRIET MIERS [Miers's Brief Disaster] [The Circle Starring  Harriet Miers] [Brilliance] [Bush Gone Wild]

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PICK THE DISGRUNTLED PUNDIT [Steve Soto/ Left Coaster] Are these the whinings of some liberal pundit bemoaning Bush’s pathetic judgment, and use of the highest court in the land as just another item of patronage?

No, these are the thoughts of none other than George Will in tomorrow’s Post, who is basically telling the intelligent part of the right wing to feel free in telling Bush to go to hell on this one.

A REBELLION BREWING ON THE RIGHT? [Jonathan Singer/The Moderate Voice]  With President Bush's nomination of Harriet Miers not being greeted with particular enthusiasm from the right wing, is it possible that the Republican Party could lose the support of religious conservatives?

By now no doubt you've read Joe's great coverage of the response from people of all political stripes and have noticed that there are a lot of folks on the right half of the spectrum who are simply unhappy with the selection. Perhaps coincidentally, and perhaps not, today the ultimate symbol of angry conservatism, former Judge Roy Moore — of 10 commandments fame — announced that he would run for governor in Alabama. Phillip Rawls has the story for the Associated Press.

A UNITER, NOT A DIVIDER [Just One Minute] Who thought George Bush could become a lame duck by winning a Supreme Court fight?

The Miers pick will be deemed to have been brilliant if it reassures the nation that a Republican can be trusted to nominate sensible, moderately conservative judges, thereby picking up more votes in the center than it loses on the "why did we bother?" right.

Subject, of course to the caveat that Miers had better be both sensible and a moderate conservative.

Are the Dems delivering more than perfunctory opposition to Miers? Should they, since a new nominee will be almost surely better known and more excitingly Right?  I have not surveyed reaction (and my time management has collapsed), but feel free to let me know below.

UPDATE:  A broad round-up from The Moderate Voice; Hugh Hewittlots rallies the defense; Glenn has , as does Michelle Malkin:

Well, it's a new day. Upon sober reflection, President Bush's nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court appears...even worse than it did 24 hours ago.

AND WHAT OF THE GOP FOCUS? [Simian Brain] The GOP is being torn apart by internal forces that have been held together under immense pressure for three decades. And what have they won for their efforts? A massive deficit, a disasterous war, a nation that increasingly embraces gay rights and disdains racism, and a secular culture that openly advances personal liberties and privacy. They hold the levers of power and feel themselves powerless. The next year will be the most dangerous one for the GOP in the modern era

THE HERETIK NOTES at this critical time in history, the far right of the Republican party has a chance to put its unique stamp on the age.  If the Republicans continue the way they have recently, the Democrats will finally look organized.

WILL RELIGION PROVIDE THE HINGE FOR MIERS? [CAPTAIN'S  QUARTERS] For a group that has repeatedly argued that the religious practice of judicial nominees has no bearing on their confirmation, conservatives suddenly have discovered a lot of interest in the evangelical outlook of Harriet Miers. The Washington Post devotes a front-page article to the topic in their profile of the new Supreme Court nominee, and discover that Miers still resists easy categorization

THE HERETIK AGREES Miers resists easy categorization, and interpretation as well.  Who can say how Miers will interpret the law in twenty years, if she is still alive at eighty?  Some are unhinged at the idea of her on the highest bench on the land and Bush's claim that she is the most qualified candidate in the land.  The Heretik is not quite unhinged, but his door swings wildly open.

MORE MODERATION [Joe Gandelman/The Moderate Voice]  Call it the GOP Insurrection of 2005. But will it last?

THE HERETIK SEES another civil war for which Bush will paint a rosy picture.  Bush asks for trust in his judgment on Iraq, for his trust in Miers that she would be the same legal mind in twenty years that she is now.  Bush claims such certitude regularly and yesterday again claimed political capital was his.  The Heretik says Bush looks a little drawn.

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