Miers Nomination a Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free Card for Republicans

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

So let's say that you're Mike DeWine, a Republican Senator from a battleground state who has never truly clicked with the voters or even with the Republican base. Your current approval ratings are only slightly better than the President's, and you're looking at a challenge in 2006 from Paul Hackett, a telegenic Marine veteran who came within a heartbeat of winning the most Republican-dominated congressional district in the state a few months ago.

The nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court gives you a golden opportunity to look good across the political spectrum. Voting against confirmation of Miers gives DeWine (or any other embattled Republican Senator seeking re-election) the chance to go back to the hard-core evangelical base and say, "I voted against her because we can't know if she's one of us. For all we know, she could be another Earl Warren." Note that Warren was nominated by Eisenhower in the belief that Warren was a moderate conservative; he wound up becoming the bete noire of modern conservatism for his judicial activism.

At the same time, you can approach moderate and independent voters and say, "I'm not George W. Bush's cabana boy. I vote the way I think is right, and you can count on that kind of independence if you send me back to Washington for six more years." Kick 'em when he's down. It's a freebie. Bush has a grand total of zero political capital, and unless you're running for the Senate in Idaho or Utah, chances are that Bush isn't particularly popular in your state anymore. You have literally nothing to lose.

And of course, you can use the same spiel to moderate and somewhat addle-minded Democrats in the hope that they might believe this ridiculous ruse. Chances are that Joe Lieberman will go out and campaign for you.

By my estimate, there are probably at least a half dozen Republican Senators who fall into that category (that includes Senators like Trent Lott and Chuck Hagel, who might vote against Miers just as a little payback). If the Democrats can cobble together six votes, they might not have to even bother threatening a filibuster -- it could be that Miers will withdraw from consideration (jump or be pushed, sister) to avoid the embarrassment of losing a vote in a Republican-controlled Senate.

[cantstandbush]

1. This is reason enough to stop this in its tracks. Dems can hold out

until Bush is out of office if they play their cards right. Or should I say, if they WANT to do it?

[Wabbajack]

2. Please

not one puke is gonna vote against her. They will all be informed in private that she is a right-wing bitch who they'll love.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

5. DeWine would have to be half-dippy to vote for her...

It doesn't please the grass roots evangelical base and it further motivates the Democrats (and makes him look like a Bush toady at the same time). There's no upside for him, other than pleasing a politically-bankrupt White House. Is he willing to risk his Senate seat for Bush? I don't think so.

[mmonk]

3. I thought at first glance

you meant any indicted administration figures.

[DemoTex]

4. Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free Card for Republicans: Exactly!

[rhett o rick]

6. If Miers doesn't get the appointment, then Georgie will just nomimate

someone more hard line. The Democrats should filibuster just for drill, the hell with the stupid compromise.