Posted on 01/26/2006 7:25:57 AM PST by conservativecorner
It's too early to gloat, but with speculation mounting that Judge Samuel Alito will be confirmed by the Senate, it's appropriate to reflect on how this nominee was appointed, in the first place:
Conservative bloggers, pundits, and activists stopped the Harriet Meirs nomination. Should Judge Alito go on to be confirmed by the Senate, much of the credit will rightfully belong to the conservative movement.
This story has been under-reported, but it is truly an historic accomplishment. Twenty years ago, before the advent of alternative media, this simply would not have been fathomable. Conservatives have long had the passion to change America, but now, to paraphrase an old TV show, "We have the technology!"
As you may recall, at the time, some Bush loyalists criticized us for opposing Meirs. There was even speculation that we were "sexist." In truth, we did the President a huge favor by saving him the embarrassment of a disastrous confirmation hearing.
The American people have also been well served by our activism. The system worked. We participated in democracy by exercising our free speech, and as a result, the American people have a better qualified nominee. Not bad for a day's work.
Speaking of work -- we've still got work to do. As Yoggi Berra said, "It ain't over till it's over." Let's get going! Mr. Lewis has managed political campaigns and served as director of grassroots for the Leadership Institute, as well as political director for GOPAC. In 2002, Campaigns & Elections Magazine selected him as a "Rising Star of Politics." He is the author of "Teaching Elephants to Talk." His blog can be read at MattLewis.org.
I have come to believe that Miers was a feint to energize the base and get some noise.
Which is one of the stupidest (and most desperate sounding) responses I have heard. The name on the lips of many conservative activists was Janice Rogers Brown. We were sexists because we wanted a woman with a great judicial record instead of a woman who had never been a judge or constitutional lawyer.
I totally agree. I just regret that we couldn't do anything about Kennedy, Souter, etc.
Or for that matter that we couldn't do anything FOR Bork.
I will not take the credit for anything except going to the polls and punching the card for GW. I believe that the election's and stacking the Supreme Court with conservatives was nothing short of Divine intervention.
W has over and over apparently let himself get into a jam with the left getting triumphant at the corner they have got him in only to realize at the moment just before the dragon is slain that they are standing in dragon drek on a cliff that is crumbling. I have stopped cursing his missteps until I see how it all comes out. It is not a stretch to believe he can use the same sort of tactics to get a citizen mob of sorts behind him where he needs a real show of force to pre-empt the opposition.
However, if that theory is true, Bush is the cleverest bas*ard ever the WH.
Pat Pat Pat Pat!
We did it! President Bush was in a slump and unfortunately decided not to fight over this court vacancy. He sent up a close friend with no knowledge of constitutional law, and with a history of waffling and adapting her views to those surrounding her.
Harriet Miers is a nice lady and no doubt a good trial attorney but she wasn't Supreme Court material. Had she been confirmed, she likely would have become another O'Connor. But when the conservative blogosphere rose up, Miers gracefully withdrew and we got Justice Alito.
We were told that someone like Miers was the best we could hope for, because the Rats had the power and the votes to block a true constitutionalist nominee. Some of us said that was nonsense, because once the public saw the nominee, and saw the ugly dimwits who were opposed to him (or her), the public would side with the nominee. The only pressure in the Senate would be on Red State Rats such as Conrad, Dorgan, and Landrieu, who have to pretend to be conservative to get elected.
And that's what's happening!
So....Pat Pat Pat Pat Pat!
Well said! I agree! I've voted twice for President Bush and I think he's doing a good job, but I disagree with him now and then and say so. I'm glad so many of us let our opposition to the Miers nomination be known.
"W has over and over apparently let himself get into a jam with the left getting triumphant at the corner they have got him in only to realize at the moment just before the dragon is slain that they are standing in dragon drek on a cliff that is crumbling. I have stopped cursing his missteps until I see how it all comes out. It is not a stretch to believe he can use the same sort of tactics to get a citizen mob of sorts behind him where he needs a real show of force to pre-empt the opposition."
He has a trait that is seen often in Texas, giving him just an occasional nudge, you let the other guy steer you to where you wanted to be in the first place. It is a great southern pleasure to have the proud, cocky opponent walk away confused about how the deal ended that way, but still convinced of their intellectual superiority.
I should have added I don't think this Meirs thing was deliberate, but even that was possible.
That's why I no longer waste my time on his show, nor will I support his advertisers if I can help it. The "moderate" Nixonian wing of the GOP can have him.
In the end, Pres. Bush did the right thing. Judge Alito will hopefully be on the court for many years to come.
"I have come to believe that Miers was a feint to energize the base and get some noise."
Then you are mistaken.
"In the end, Pres. Bush did the right thing."
Yes he did, and not because it was some sort of "Grand Rovian Poker Strategy to Fire Up The Base"
So you really believe President Bush sent up a close friend to be humiliated across the entire country and even outside our borders? She was ripped to classic shreds on the late night circuit.
President Bush does not set his friends up to be ridiculed by SNL as part of a "rope a dope". This was not a feint.
I would add talk radio, Federalist Society (LEGAL CIRCUIT) and even some people in the W.H. leaking to the papers in an attempt to scuttle the nomination deserving of credit as well.
I love the President, I've chosen to forgive certain statements made during that time, but it was a mistake not "planned".
In the end, I only wish I'd been around and had the ability to participate in the same for kennedy, O'Connor, Souter, Stevens, and long down the line. It wouldn't have been pleasant for the Republican Presidents, but in the end they wouldn't have their legacies marred with these contributions to the Court and we would have had a better Justice system.
But I'm not taking victory laps. It's not over. Even WHEN confirmed, Alito doesn't significantly change the court. I'll celebrate when we have a 7-2 edge.
I pray for another judge or two to retire or otherwise leave the Court, especially Breyer, Ginsberg, or Stevens. I suspect Souter and Kennedy will swing farther to the right when the wind they follow is blowing the other way.
I had a bad mojo about Miers in the first place.. With Alito bad mojo gone...
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