Posted on 10/27/2005 10:22:22 AM PDT by RWR8189
President Bush can move forward by being bold and uniting both congressional Republicans and his political base.
THE WITHDRAWAL of Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers is the first step on the road to political recovery for President Bush. It gives him the opportunity to select a well-known judicial conservative for the Court vacancy, rally conservatives who opposed or were skeptical of Miers, and rebuild his political base.
Winning confirmation won't be easy. Democrats already have their story down: Bush capitulated to the far right in jettisoning Miers and his new nominee will be a right-wing extremist. My guess is Democrats will stick to this narrative no matter whom the president chooses from the roster of a dozen or more conservatives with strong credentials and deep experience in constitutional law.
But a fight would be good for Bush. Battling for a highly qualified nominee, this time with conservatives on his side, would hasten the consolidation of his base. And if he's going to accomplish anything significant in the three-plus years left in his second term, he needs his base. He'll also have Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist with him enthusiastically--and prepared to impose the "nuclear option" to shut off a Democratic filibuster if necessary.
Once a new nominee is confirmed, the next steps for Bush are fairly obvious. Some of them are set in place. The first is to champion spending cuts beyond the $35 billion he proposed to slash from his 2006 budget. The second is to hold down spending on the Katrina recovery. The good news is that Katrina funds previously appropriated are being used up at a slower pace than expected.
Then there's immigration, an issue on which the president and his base are at odds. Yet a compromise wouldn't be impossible, if Bush agreed to tougher security on the southern border with double or triple the number of border guards and conservatives agreed to lighten up on illegal immigrants already living in the United States. By avoiding harsh treatment of Mexican immigrants here, Republicans could avert a backlash from Hispanic-Americans, a voting bloc of growing importance.
Bush's strength as president is based on three things: his penchant for bold leadership, Republican control of Congress, and his political base of an overlapping group of Republicans and conservatives. To govern effectively, he needs all three.
If he has them, he'll able to overcome a major bump in the path to recovery that may occur Friday: the indictment of White House aides Karl Rove and Scooter Libby in the CIA leak case.
The president got into trouble with conservatives by not being bold in picking a replacement for Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Bush wanted a woman and chose one--Miers--whom he figured wouldn't provoke a major confirmation struggle in the Senate. He sought to avoid a fight, an unusual tack for him, by not selecting a certifiable conservative such as Priscilla Owen, who is a U.S. appeals court judge.
But not only were Republican senators lukewarm (at best) on Miers, Democrats were bound to jump on her when hearings in the Senate Judiciary Committee began November 7. It might have ugly.
Miers and the White House used as the excuse for withdrawal that the Senate was demanding documents from her work as presidential legal counselor and, earlier, as staff secretary and deputy chief of staff. Since these couldn't be handed over--they'd jeopardize confidentiality--she had to withdraw.
True, this was a problem. But a bigger problem was the possibility of embarrassment at the hearings for both Miers and Bush, followed by Senate rejection. Even sympathetic senators who met with Miers worried she might not be able to discuss constitutional law and specific cases with confidence and credibility. Moreover, though the president insisted she'd be a reliable judicial conservative on the high court, recent press reports of statements she'd made in the 1990s raised serious questions about that.
A week ago, senators who met with Bush at the White House said he was so adamant about sticking with Miers that he'd say no if she asked to have her nomination withdrawn. Since then, however, public support for her failed to materialize. The anti-Miers drumbeat by conservatives continued and Republican senators remained wary.
How will this affect the Supreme Court? Chances are the successor to O'Conner will now be the real thing, a justice with unequivocally conservative leanings who tilts the ideological balance of the court to the right. Whether Miers would have had the same impact we'll never know.
Fred Barnes is executive editor of The Weekly Standard.
BTTT
If you doubt the degree of the left's fear of JRB, check out some of their sites today. Interesting new tactic though..People for American Way and Save Our Courts websites are obviously made by the same designer. Content is also nearly identical.
http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=12566
http://saveourcourts.civilrights.org/nominees/nominees/brown.html
http://www.now.org/issues/judicial/060305-TruthBrown.html
At least NOW, who uses the same recycled character assassination, has the decency to hire their own web designer. I keep thinking of two hairy legged, left-ette web designers sitting in their "life-partner" pad thinking of new names for anti-JRB sites. Maybe we'll find out the entire left is the same person? Or maybe Teddy Kennedy (the other white meat) ate the entire moderate left movement? Anyone seen Joe Lieberman lately????
Fred Barnes--Yet another Kool aid drinking Bushbot. (sarcasm)
JRB is too much of a risk as it took so much to get her to the appellate court.
Word is that the front runner is McConnell
It sounds like Fred is projecting but I hope it is true.
First question is whether Bush is still hellbent on naming a woman.
I'll once again make my darkhorse pitch for Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. The left would look like the bullies they are trying to beat up a man in a wheelchair.
Hasn't Rush been saying this for weeks, and didn't his Wall Street Journal op-ed say most of this?
I read that Alito was narrowly passed over for Miers. Perhaps it will be him.
He would be a wonderful pick.
His nickname around the Beltway is Scalito.
.
McConnell would be awesome....esp obviously on the much muddled religion issues. The leftist academy also was very nice to him in his first confirmation, I think, so what are they gonna do now? This would be good.
I have been big on Abbott since I first heard about him. he has judicial experience at the trial court level (very unique) on Tx Supremes, and, interestingly, he has been elected to the exec branch...something which no one on scotus can claim at the moment. So he has the bona fides while also bringing something new to the table. He's also fearless, deeply conservative, and has a sincere Christian faith. He's attractive, smart and mildmannered. He also argued and won the Texas decalogue case in front of SCOTUS. He would cause the left to freak, but, let them go ahead and do so. I think we could actually win that battle.
Possibly.
Oh noooooooooooo, it might have been ugly.
What's it been till now Fred?
I think the bigger battle to win is for conservatives to pull together again.
I am pleasantly surprised by this turn of events and sincerely hope the president now appoints someone with a proven conservative track record. I also agree this is an opportunity to reunite the party. Let there be no doubt, the Republican leadership is out of touch with a large portion of their base. Yet, they really do need us, the "extreme right wing," to get elected. I expect the Dems to support their base, and they rarely disappoint. So why are we wrong to expect our leaders to support us? Do our senators and representatives actually expect to win reelection by appealing to Dems?
Great tagline, prairiebreeze! But one exception might be Zell ;-)
"History will show . . . the radical right wing drove this nomination right out of town" -- Harry Reid
Boy oh boy, this is going to be even more fun to watch than the Miers lynching.
Wonder how successfully Democrats will be at using the radical right's rhetoric against the next nominee?
Can't wait for the fun to begin. Hurry up! Hurry up! Name somebody! Quick!
[[Word is that the front runner is McConnell.]]
Whomever is putting out that word is not tuned in, in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, I like McConnell, but smart money says it will be a woman or a Hispanic. And, no, that Hispanic will not be Gonzalez. I am leaning towards a Hispanic, he has insinuated in the past that he wanted as part of his legacy to be the one who put the first Hispanic on the Supreme Court. I like Garza, but I think Estrada is the best choice he could make with an eye on the big picture of the battle that looms ahead. The democrats past filibuster and the judicial memos on Estrada give us more ammunition to fight democrats with, as well as his feel good story providing great PR. The question being whether Bush can convince Estrada to accept and go through the process again. I think it can be done if he assures Estrada that he believes in him and he will fight hard for him.
Being split will only cost the congress in 2006 and potentially the WH in 08. You can think what you want, way too many Americans vote not on issues, but with their pocketbooks. Even if the president has little control over oil and gas prices, he will get the blame and the elections are where it will be felt.
The CIA scandal mess may influence some, but will be blown over by time the elections come around, especially if the president distances himself from those accused.
Americans educated in government indoctrination camps (public schools) will only remember the 30-second sound bite last night or the recent headline on the front of the scandal rags called newspapers. Few will know the details, or even bother to read the details, those that can actually read above the 3d grade level. Therefore, they will assume all are guilty, the president is at fault for all the worlds ills, democrats will fill their pockets with money for doing nothing but voting for them, etc. So, yes, the president does need to bring the conservative base back together. If it is splintered in November as badly as it is now, loss of the congress is very possible.
Actually, I think he understands the politics of the problem.
On the one hand, the illegal alien problem is massive and must be dealt with NOW. On the other, any appearance of a pogrom will be devastating to the Republicans at the polls.
The answer is a balance between HARD enforcement at the borders with a mechanism for documentation of LEGAL immigrants, and both should be unveiled simultaneously, or there will be political hell to pay. Any solution should be crafted to avoid a gold rush of new illegals coming in to take advantage of amnesty. So amnesty of any kind has to be avoided.
AFTER the borders are secured and the mechanism for LEGAL immigration is in place, then the illegals already here can be dealt with.
Dear friend, please let's pull together and not make the assumption that there is only one kind of conservatism.
[President Bush] He'll also have Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist with him enthusiastically--and prepared to impose the "nuclear option" to shut off a Democratic filibuster if necessary. Unfortunately I gotta disagree with you Fred. Senator Frist does not have the cojones necessary to herd the Republican RINOS. Thus I fear we'll never see the passage of the Constitutional Option, which is a shame. We really do need that.
It's not going to be JRB.
Estrada would be great, but I don't think that he would put his family through another estradification.
Do you recall that the charge was made that Miguel Estrada said only what his white masters told him? That is pretty foul to have to listen to without the benefit of support from Republicans.
"I'll once again make my darkhorse pitch for Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott"
That would be AWESOME. Can't say I expect it, though.
Fred Barnes is on target!
Freddy "the Beatle" Barnes left out one thing. One Very important thing.
The rejection of Miers by conservatives, makes McAnus, and Grahams position as members of the Gang of 14 untenable if McAnus has Presidential Aspirations, and W only needs two to go Nukular.
See Above.
Looks like Fred still doesn't get it when it comes to illegal immigration.
Fred Barnes is a raging mediocrity. On Fox he was cluelessly sanguine and pollyannish on the Miers nomination. Obviously he is out of touch with conservatives. His columns reflect conventional conservative Georgetown babble and are not with the pixels on your monitor.
Then there's immigration, an issue on which the president and his base are at odds. Yet a compromise wouldn't be impossible, if Bush agreed to tougher security on the southern border with double or triple the number of border guards and conservatives agreed to lighten up on illegal immigrants already living in the United States. By avoiding harsh treatment of Mexican immigrants here, Republicans could avert a backlash from Hispanic-Americans, a voting bloc of growing importance.
You must feel that your stance is incredibly weak if you have to resort to misrepresenting the other side.
saveliberty wrote: "Dear friend, please let's pull together and not make the assumption that there is only one kind of conservatism."
With all due respect, what do you mean? Are you claiming the RINOs are just different kinds of conservatives? The Republican Party needs to accept people with different views, of course, but it still has to stand for something. I think the "extreme right wing" would be more willing to compromise if the Republican leadership gave us a bit more than lip service. Show me action, not talk! Let's see them reduce and/or restrain the federal beast in some tangible way, and then we can come together.
If I understand the withdrawl reasons right, then this effectively nukes Alberto Gonzolez, too, as a potenital high court nominee. A two-fer.
I agree with everything Barnes wrote. I just hope Pres. Bush is smart enough to go this course.
[[Estrada would be great, but I don't think that he would put his family through another estradification.]]
That is why I said he would need assurances of strong, active support that would counter attacks. I think that and an appeal to his sense of love of country.
[[Do you recall that the charge was made that Miguel Estrada said only what his white masters told him? That is pretty foul to have to listen to without the benefit of support from Republicans.]]
I recall that well, but the SCOTUS confirmation process is much more visible and under closer scrutiny. And those judicial memos would take a lot of fire power away from the democrats. Painting the democrats as beholding to, and manipulated by, special interests, instead of serving the people, would be a powerful weapon, one they would want to avoid with the 2006 elections just around the corner. I think they would have their hands tied with an Estrada nomination.
Yes, Rush has been saying this.
It's noteable because Fred has been mischaracterizing the opposition to this nomination from the start. From the strength of it to the reasons for it. Seems he's been forced to come closer to the reality of the situation now that the nomination has been withdrawn.
good point!
>>>>I'll once again make my darkhorse pitch for Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. The left would look like the bullies they are trying to beat up a man in a wheelchair.
Nothing against him, but I don't think the next nominee should be a Texan after this last Texan "crony" didn't make it. I think it makes it too easy for the dems to call him a crony again.
patent
Yes! Limbaugh Echo Syndrome, on display once again. :)
"Nothing against him, but I don't think the next nominee should be a Texan after this last Texan "crony" didn't make it. I think it makes it too easy for the dems to call him a crony again. "
This is all hypothetical, obviously, and I doubt if GWB will go there...but...that said, Abbott is a completely different caliber of nominee than whats her name. He is very qualified, very smart, very politically savvy, very telegenic. And he's never worked for Bush. So yeah he's a Texan, but it's not like he has tied his destiny to Bush. I think if the D's did the crony thing, it would fall flat. If I were strategizing for the Dems, I would try to come up with a different talking point. The only thing they can argue against Abbott is that he's an extremist and would overrule RvW. That's there only hope and since they are going to do that anyway, then, we ought to put up a candidate who is solid on other fronts.
All I was suggesting is that it's a tough thing to build consensus. Consensus doesn't obviate dissent or the right thereto.
I think that he can still love his country and want to protect his family. Again, his nomination would be fabulous if he made it through.
It is a big sacrifice to ask and to do so for the second time.
:-) I knew that I was good for something! LOL!
I'd like to know why they trotted out an unqualified stealth candidate, and then attempted to assure everyone she's pro-life, and even that appears now to be untrue. Were they lying to us? If so, why?
>>>>This is all hypothetical, obviously, and I doubt if GWB will go there...but...that said, Abbott is a completely different caliber of nominee than whats her name. He is very qualified, very smart, very politically savvy, very telegenic. And he's never worked for Bush. So yeah he's a Texan, but it's not like he has tied his destiny to Bush. I think if the D's did the crony thing, it would fall flat.
I don't know. I think it would carry some weight with the general public. Keep in mind the mentality of these folks. In some minds, all Texan's are a bit different than the rest of us and all of them know each other.
Anyway, I don't think the whole Crony thing would be all that hard, there must have been some contacts they could exploit. Would it be powerful? No, but better than only having Roe v. Wade to fight on.
patent
Being a very spiteful man, if I were Bush, having been gutted by my own party, I would assign Traitor Kerry to come up with a nominee.
Then if Rove and Libby were indicted and considering that more than half of the citizens of this "once" great Country are now against the War, I would call ALL of our Troops home.
I would wait until I could give Rove and Libby a Presidential Pardon and then I would walk out to the Rose Garden and tell the American people that........... they can all KMA while they fight the terrorists in their own streets. Then, I would go fishing.............
Think about this. What if this was the plan all along?
President Bush has been losing support from the conservative base for a long time. The border issue has pushed a lot of us away from the Republican party (I no longer give any money to them), and they needed a way to get us back into the fold.
Now, the Prez pulls this crap with nominating a woman for SCOTUS who has no real qualifications for the job other than being his friend and having a vagina. Oh, and let's not forget all of her liberal speeches and writings, not to mention the fact that she gave money to Gore and Clinton. The conservative base is now totally put off, and wants nothing more to do with this administration, or perhaps even the Republican party.
The conservatives stew for a while. We do everything we can to get the nomination to be pulled, but to no avail for almost an entire month.
Suddenly, out of the blue, the Prez starts talking tough about illegal immigration. Wow! None of us expected that! But, there it was. He finally came out against illegals. Sure, we won't believe it until we see some action that doesn't involve amnesty, but at least he said something. Days later, the nomintaion of Harriet Meirs is withdrawn. Suddenly, we are pulling together. The Bush bashing has stopped. The conservatives are happy and are ready to work with our party again.
Absolutely masterful. By the '06 elections, we will all be solidly behind the Republicans again. I, for one, am very happy to now have a party I can get behind.
Just an opinion, as I am not one of the tinfoil hat crowd. But, this certainly smacks of a conspiracy to get us conservatives back to the Republican party where we belong.
So you can develop my whole position on illegal immigration on just one comment? Hmm. And you claim that it is I who is misrepresenting. Well, please tell me then sir, what is my stance exactly? I would love to hear your "version" of my stance. I know one thing for sure, your version will have the word "racist" at least once.
If Fred means the next nominee, then he could be right.
If he means the "successor to O'Connor," then he's in a dream world. Rinos will not permit a real conservative on the court. JMHO.
Who's your pick, Fred? Or are you just going to wait and criticize?
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