Foolishly misunderestimating the Angry Right?
James Taranto of OpinionJournal.com saw first-hand Thursday night the anger against President Bush regarding the nomination of Harriet Miers. Here are Taranto's comments in today's Best of the Web:
When President Bush nominated Harriet Miers on Monday, we saw it as a missed opportunity. It left us underwhelmed, not appalled. But having spent last evening communing here with some 1,000 conservatives at National Review's 50th anniversary dinner, we see a political disaster in the making.Bush is certain not to withdraw the nomination, but how the anger from the right will play out in the nomination process remains to be seen.
We talked to quite a few people, and we heard not a single kind word about the nomination from anyone who wasn't on the White House staff. A couple of our soundings led us to think that such support as it has received has been more sycophantic than sincere. One putative proponent privately distanced himself from his public praise of Miers. Another person, whose employer has strongly backed the Miers nomination, told us, "Of course, I disagree wholeheartedly."
The White House seems genuinely befuddled by the intensity of conservative opposition, and especially stung by the harsh words of George Will and Trent Lott. The White House position seems to be that Bush gave the Supreme Court an excellent leader in Chief Justice John Roberts (on this point, of course, we agree wholeheartedly), and that what the president was seeking in his second pick was not someone with "sharp elbows" but a reliable "conservative" vote.
This is similar to the left's description of Clarence Thomas as a mere follower of Antonin Scalia. If the White House adopting this invidious caricature as its ideal, conservatives have every reason to be angry.
Conventional wisdom still has it that Miers is a shoo-in for confirmation. We're not so sure. From what we saw last night, the right is furious at President Bush for appointing someone they see as manifestly underqualified and for ducking a fight with the Democratic left--a fight that, in their view (and ours), would be good for the country, the conservative cause and the Republican Party.
Bush may be getting a fight anyway. And while he can laugh off the Angry Left, which would never support him no matter what he did, the Angry Right is a force he'd be a fool to misunderestimate.
3 Comments:
At 10/08/2005 9:41 PM, I am Coyote said…
I mentioned how this nomination my play out today.
It might play out with GWB finally doing something about illegal immigration. He underestimated the sting this nomination would have and the rumor is that he is tryint to save her nomination (and his stature) by offering a deal.
You were correct in your first instinct which was to be tough on this choice (I think that was the first?). If folks were not tough on this choice the likelihood that the conservative movement would have gotten anything out of it is nil.
We can't just simply roll over and give up, even if it is to a republican president. We have worked too hard as movement conservatives to simply fall down in awe and say "thank you sir, may I have another."
I know, I know people don't like my tone sometimes. However, politics at that level gets much harsher than that, and those folks have chosen this field and know the rules.
They played ultimate hardball in Washington state by totally stifeling the state conservatives and freezing out Reed Davis. To thte point that at the State Convention they would not even put his name in the literature as a Senatorial candidate.
They did much the same in Oregon in 2001 to drive out Perry Atkinson.
Then when the time comes that the grassroots actually pushes back they want to call "times" and ask everyone to shush.
Well, uh... No, it does not work that way fellas.
Ken you were right to go with Peggy Noonan's line of thought.
Good instinct. Stay with your instincts brother and don't let the Neville Chamberlin's of the world sway you.
Yip Yip
At 10/08/2005 9:42 PM, I am Coyote said…
PS
Hey? I noticed I am not even an "almost everyday" read.
heavy sigh...
At 10/10/2005 6:06 PM, Ken said…
I should probably re-label those. My Northwest Reads are everyday reads. Don't you worry, Coyote...
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