Conservatives have stuck with Mr. Bush through the bloodiest and gloomiest days of the war in Iraq, held firm as administration officials are investigated for revealing a CIA operative's identity and given him a pass on the galloping federal spending. But blowing the historic opportunity to replace a swing vote on the Supreme Court is unforgivable, conservatives say....Yes, the defense of the choice was worse than the choice.
Many conservatives also have been shocked by the administration's handling of the negative reaction from its longtime and ardent supporters. They have been called "elitist" and "sexist," and some Republican Senate Judiciary Committee staff lawyers say White House officials have stopped communicating with them.
They also have gone to great pains to tout Miss Miers as an evangelical Christian in an apparent effort to shore up that bloc of voters. The tactic is insulting, say conservatives -- especially conservative jurists who think religion and personal views have no place in the debate.
October 14, 2005
"What a stupid, stupid mistake."
"You cannot fix this for 25 years." The conservative wrath over Harriet Miers rages on:
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The mantra of the hard-Right has always been that the Left is hysterical and nothing but whiners. It seems the tide has turned. What a pack of screeching, babbling fools they have become. Clearly the Lord has smitten them and put a pox upon them and befuddled their minds.
I remember a radio call in show with Jesse Ventura during the Minnesota State Employees strike. A health care worker called in and chastised Jesse... asking him how he would feel if a disaster occurred where there would be no gov health care workers available to help the victims, merely because Jesse refused to give them the raise they wanted.
Jesse was speechless at the selfishness of the question.
So the same goes for some of these Conservatives. Maybe they will all commit suicide because of Harriet Miers. They will sure show the rest of us!
Oh the Pessimism. What babies.
John Fund had a very interesting article on the failed vetting process for Miers. I think he makes a good case that Bush messed this up, relying too much on personal knowledge and not enough on a rigorous investigation of the nominee's qualifications and the potential fall-out. And now they are scrambling to catch up.
Miers may make a good justice. But I still can't believe that the White House would 1) Put forward a person whom almost nobody knows, 2)Shield from public scrutiny almost anything of substance she's ever written, and 3) Defend their choice with little more than code words and "Trust me."
Republicans always suck at PR. Read a post on just about any pro-war blog, and in it and in the comments you can find many decent arguments for the war that the Bush administration NEVER cites.
With Miers the problem may well be that there *are* no good arguments, but you'd think they could at least afford to pay good spinmeisters to make some up. This is politics after all!
Uh - Saul?
" I think the real mistake is that Bush has withdrawn the nomination"
Do you know something we don't? As far as major news is concerned, they haven't done any such thing. Yet.
Clearly the Lord has smitten them and put a pox upon them and befuddled their minds.
Don't be ridiculous, Goesh.
I'm as sane as a Sears Roebuck catalogue.
Cheers,
Victoria
There is one thing I'd like to say about the sexism charge certain people are using towards Miers.
They think what Laura Bush and others said is not valid, and I would tend to agree with that.
Most people were aghast when they heard the nominee's name not because she was a woman, but because she was an under-qualified Bush crony.
But the criticism of her IS couched in sexist terms.
Even a feminist-disliker like me can see that a mile away.
But don't worry, I don't absolve myself in the matter.
First thing out of my mouth, (well maybe not the FIRST thing, but close), was that she had on too many cameos, baubles, and tschochkes on her person that day.
I don't think I remarked on Roberts' choice of tie.
Cheers,
Victoria
Conservative "wrath" or hysteria aside, I think that impassioned disagreement amongst conservatives about Miers (or anything else) is good. Who cares if the left is gleeful about it... it's ultimately healthy!
And it's indicative that people care about issues, not mere politics. There are a LOT of conservatives who obviously aren't listening to the "just trust Bush because he's our Republican leader" line.
Isn't this good? It certainly belies political groupthink.
Victoria said:
"First thing out of my mouth, (well maybe not the FIRST thing, but close), was that she had on too many cameos, baubles, and tschochkes on her person that day"
I too am guilty as charged! It's her hair, makeup and suits that get me.
knoxgirl,
Republicans always suck at PR. Read a post on just about any pro-war blog, and in it and in the comments you can find many decent arguments for the war that the Bush administration NEVER cites.
Actually, PR is rather different from reasoned arguments. Before the last few months, this administration has typically been exceptional at PR, but has rarely believed it was required to justify its positions with sound reasoning. My impression is that the President simply isn't interested in reasoned debate.
Of course, there are many Republicans who are interested, and as you point out, they have been happy to put forth well-reasoned positions on blogs and in various other forums.
Knoxgirl, Victoria,
Don't be too hard on yourselves. We certainly heard about Roberts' "40-year-old Virgin" vibe. And who didn't laugh at Kerry's "bunny suit" picture? I think we (not unreasonably) expect national leaders to look professional.
Anyway, I'm glad chez Althouse is an equal-opportunity snark zone. We need a place to throw around ridiculous, satirical comments.
an said:
"Before the last few months, this administration has typically been exceptional at PR"
mmm... I don't see it. I think a pretty big gripe with Bush amongst his supporters is that he has consistently sucked at defending the war on terror. The terrorists have handily done his job for him in that respect.
I do agree that PR is centered in spin, not "reasoned arguments"-- that's why I brought up using spinmeisters, in the absence of reasoned arguments.
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