The bottom line is that the Meirs supporters like to believe themselves being loyal to GWB and the party by supporting this nomination. But what they are doing is enabling mediocrity, picking friends over qualified people, and preferring people keep their views quiet so that no one knows they are conservative.
Are these people any different than the liberals who try to hide in the closet from the L word? Most conservatives I know are damn proud to call themselves conservative and know excatly where and why they stand on issues.
Many of the bots have no core beliefs, only that they support the GOP. Medicare Drug Bill, CFR, Immigration, Spending, all come to mind as these are things not even Clinton could have accomplished.
The Constitution does not explicitly establish any qualifications for Justices of the Supreme Court. In fact it does not even specify citizenship or age as it does for the executive and legislative branches. However, Presidents normally nominate individuals who have prior legal experience. Typically, most nominees have judicial experience, either at the federal or state level. Several nominees have formerly served on federal Courts of Appeals, especially the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which is often considered a stepping stone to the Supreme Court. Another source of Supreme Court nominees is the federal executive branch—in particular, the Department of Justice. Other potential nominees include members of Congress and academics. On the current Supreme Court, seven Justices previously served on federal courts (including three on the D.C. Circuit); two served on state courts; three were former law school professors; and three held full time positions in the federal executive branch.