Penultimate thoughts on Miers

At this point it seems quite possible that the Miers’ nomination may go down in flames. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

There have, however, been some bad things about the conservative backlash to her nomination. Conservative pundits were caught off guard. This is a little odd since her name was one of the names floated by the White House before Bush’s formal announcement. So it shouldn’t have been all that surprising. Apparently, pundits didn’t take that seriously, which was a mistake.

When Gonzales’ name was floated, they shot it down. That’s much better than having a public brawl after-the-fact. One reason the White House leaks a name is to test the political waters.

And because the pundits were caught off guard, they didn’t have a prepared statement. So their immediate reaction was to cast about and cobble together any stray objection that first came to mind. This took on a rather opportunistic appearance—seizing on a whole host of miscellaneous criticisms which were not especially conservative or consistent. Moreover, the attack took a form which is almost sure to make a man like Bush dig in his heels.

And one is still puzzled by the intensity of the opposition. My pet theory is that while there are valid reservations regarding the Miers’ nomination, this is, in some measure, a proxy for pent-up frustrations over other deficiencies of White House policy.

The right-wing is prepared, after a certain amount of grumbling under-its-breath, to give Bush a pass on some issues it cares about—such as vouchers, border control, and deficient spending—as long as it gets something in return. But when he fails to deliver on an issue like high court nominees, then not only does that particular issue rankle the base, but they no longer have that consolation prize to offset all their other resentments. So they snap under the cumulative weight of their many pet peeves.

This is understandable and, to some extent, justifiable, but given the befuddlement of the White House at the insurrection within party ranks, it wouldn’t hurt to send a clearer signal. Otherwise, the overreaction to Miers seems out of proportion to the provocation, and leaves the White House without clear guidance.