The Washington Times reports this morning:
Nearly half of Senate Republicans say they remain unconvinced that Harriet Miers is worthy of being confirmed to the Supreme Court, according to a survey conducted by The Washington Times.
What’s troubling for President Bush, however, is that 27 Republican senators — almost half of his party’s members in the chamber — have publicly expressed specific doubts about Miss Miers or said they must withhold any support whatsoever for her nomination until after the hearings.
On October 5th, www.politicalwire.com wrote: “The bipartisan group of 14 senators that averted a showdown over President Bush’s judicial nominees earlier this year is set to meet today to discuss the nomination of White House Counsel Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court,” The Fix reports.”The meeting may be the first step in a return to prominence for the group… The group met twice during the Roberts confirmation process, but the stakes in the Miers nomination are seen as higher since she may tip the court’s balance on key issues like abortion.”Of the 14, four face potentially tight re-election bids in 2006: Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV), Sen. Mike DeWine (R-OH) and Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-RI).
The Gang of Fourteen aside, things appear not be be going swimmingly for President Bush and his nomination of Harriet Miers. I tend to be more the hardliner: I was spoiling for a fight (see my 10-06 post) and still find myself perplexed — why won’t President Bush fight for what the Left considers a true Non-Mainstream (NMS) candidate? There are many excellent candidates and I would tend towards Janice Rogers Brown, Michael Luttig, Michael McConnell or Edith Jones. It is possible that Bush thinks, if push came to shove, that the so-called Nuclear Option would have its fuse pulled at the last second by a lack of a 51 majority. On the other hand, if Bush wavers then senators waver.
And I still believe Bush rewards loyalty, and realizes he knows Miers better than other potential candidates. To him, she is a known quantity.
It’s not a given that Miers will be confirmed. More pundits are speculating about the possibility of Miers deciding to pull herself from the process. The greatest criticism has come from within the GOP, not from the Dems. Some think it’s a sign of the GOP falling apart; I submit it’s a sign of disappointment in a second term president’s failing to take full opportunity of, quite literally, a once in a lifetime chance to place true believers in the US Constitution on the Supreme Court of the United States.
Simple as that.
