There's definitely something bittersweet going on withme about the whole thing. On the one hand, my strong-left leanings dread a right-side stormtrooper wandering about the court. On the other hand, my rule-of-law leanings look forward to some modicum of predictably/integrity in a different nominee. For all my "hope she drifts left" feelings about HM, I could never get past the idea that she was going to be a blatantly results-oriented jurist.
I'd like to think that someone who believes in the text of a law will avoid that, but I hesitate even in that belief. Just recently, I ran across a study that really puts the lie to the idea that any Justice is doing anything *other* than just ruling based on ideology. It's rather depressing.

Don't give up. I worked for a great federal judge who worked really hard to apply the law, even when he disagreed with it pretty strongly. Right now everything in America looks like an ideological cat scratch fight. But I think there are still a lot of folks on the bench who are trying to be true to the laws as written.

Of course, none of them have a chance of being nominated for this job by George Bush. Dumbest. President. Ever.

Bush is in a world of hurt, because the conservatives just destroyed all the talking points he'll need to use to ram a wingnut down our throats.

"Everyone is entitled to an up or down vote." Uh, no, sorry, the conservatives forced you to withdraw Miers before they voted for her.

"There should be no litmus test." Uh, no, sorry, the right made Miers withdraw because they feared she was not blatantly pro-choice.

Now the Democrats can filibuster with impunity, and can use the "Bush is catering to the extreme fundamentalist conservatives in the GOP" as their one-and-only talking point.

About the dumbest president ever point, though--absolutely right.

Um, it isn't just the wingnuts, guys. There are plenty on the right -- in fact, from my ivory perch where the far righties are all but excluded, everyone on the right -- who opposed Miers because she was judged incompetent as a jurist, not as a politician. It is surely the case that the massive pressure from moderate and thoughtful conservatives (yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus) contributed to Miers' demise. I'm not saying the fringe wasn't worried and opposed, but they weren't the only ones, and you simply can't infer that they and not the sensible folks were the reason for the withdrawal. And Jack -- wasn't John Roberts nominated by this president? He may (or may not) be of the right political mind, but he surely is and has been "trying to be true to the laws as written."

You guys are a hoot. Such disingenuousness. The senate Ds were anticipating grilling her, indeed licking their chops at the prospect, over her self-proclaimed "born again" beliefs and her reported opposition to Roe v. Wade. And let's be honest here for once in your lives, there a'int no way that any sizable number of Ds --if any-- were ever going to be voting to confirm her. So when Bush saw that confirmation problems extended to some conservatives too, he knew the confirmation vote was lost. And so he pulled the nomination. Simple as that.

As for the next one, I'm betting on J. Michael Luttig.

And I'm glad that Jack has self-identified as a leftie, fitting right in with his left wing chums Neil, Ted, Tom Vera, and the rest of the gang at PDC. Right Jack?

No; on local stuff, I'm way to the right of Erik the Red. On national and international stuff, I'm way to the left of the mob that's currently running things.

I'm what used to be called a moderate Democrat.

As for the new pick, Wordlwide Pablo is calling Albert Gonzales. That sounds right to me.

The senate Ds were anticipating grilling her, indeed licking their chops at the prospect, over her self-proclaimed "born again" beliefs and her reported opposition to Roe v. Wade. And let's be honest here for once in your lives, there a'int no way that any sizable number of Ds --if any-- were ever going to be voting to confirm her.

Yeah, how crazy of them to want to ask her some questions. And gee, who would have expected that the President's own personal lawyer would be privvy to certain, um, politically sensitive topics as well?

And, FYI, anyone identifying the PDC as "leftie" needs to get out more.

I promise to vote republican in 2006 if Maureen Mahoney gets the nod.

Here comes the gotchya!

Question a Gonzales and you become a racist, instantly?

Comprende?

There is absolutely NO WAY that Alberto Gonzalez will be the nominee. The right (thats me) do not trust him, and Bush will not want to go through all the demagoguery he will face over the "what is the legal definition of torture" memos. That hearing would probably fit the legal definition of torture.

And, as lefties continually fail to recognize (as in the comments above), the criticism of Miers from the right was not that she wasnt conservative enough. The criticism was that she was not the most qualified. The response was "she is conservative...she goes to church!" And we religious conservatives said, "so what? I am religious conservative, but I am not qualified to be on the supreme court."

What conservatives want is someone like Clarence Thomas, with enough integrity to say "I may disagree with the medical marijuana law philisophically, but I believe in the 10th amendment enough to say that its up to the state to make the decision." That is what an ideal conservative justice would be like. The judiciary to us is not some super-legislature that gets to "vote" on things. That is how liberals view the court...we want this or that, we need someone who will go and "discover" it in the constitution. Conservatives flatly reject this notion as incredibly dangerous.

If you want new "rights", amend the constitution. Dont use judges to do your dirty work, whether you are a liberal or conservative. I think Miers was a poor choice because she seems to be someone who was chosen just to be a conservative version of the typical, liberal jusidical activist.

Conservative & activist judge are mutually exclusive. And conservatives dont need to have activists, because the constitution is conservative (it is a limitation on federal government power). All we need is someone who is ok with that premise and knows that they are there to decide matters of law, not save the world.

The thing that amazed me is that Teh Prez seemed to actually expect that he could appoint a marginally-qualified person with no judicial track record, and claim that personal or Presidential attorney-client privelige excluded a large part of her legal opinions from scrutiny, and he still expected her to be confirmed. In other words, he seemed to believe that he had enough personal clout to nominate a crony with no visible record to the Supreme Court, and fifty-one Senators would just trust him.

I fear it's less a matter of presidential stupidity than of megalomania.

I think President Bush is mad at his conservative base. His next nominee is going to be Al Franken. There are a lot of people who are wondering what to do with their Harriet Miers Halloween masks now that she's not scary anymore. Relax. Just add a little more make-up to the masks and go as Alice Cooper.

The nomination will be a strong indication of who's in charge in the White House these days. With Rove *ahem* preoccupied, GWB was left to his own devices and came up with Miers. That won't happen again. Some have been suggesting the adults may be coming back into favor within the inner circle. Wonder if/when the phone call will be made to Tom Hagen...I mean Jim Baker.

Look out. Here comes Souter II.

Posit this: The Rove man was behind the whole thing. He and Bush both knew that deep yogurt would engulf them both sooner or later. Together with Harriet, they agreed she'd be put up....to distract all players, as well as the press....and that ultimately, when the time (tomorrow) dictated, she'd take the fall....to again, further distract the MSM. The resulting kerfuffle in a kerfuffle will continue to distract the MSM from going 100% on Plameleak....allowing W to finally put up his nominee....much to the delight of the right.....and causing Teddy/Chuckie/Joey et al on the jud-com to sputter/cough/wheeze/pontificate/spew ad infinitum until they finally shut up and allow whomever the nominee is to answer their questions.

Think about it....betcha I'm not far off the mark?

Talk about needing to get out more:
"Conservative & activist judge are mutually exclusive. "

Tony, stop! If you're going to say things that are so nonsensical, please post a disclaimer first. You made me laugh so hard that I blew soda out my nose and onto my keyboard.

"And, as lefties continually fail to recognize (as in the comments above), the criticism of Miers from the right was not that she wasnt conservative enough. The criticism was that she was not the most qualified. The response was "she is conservative...she goes to church!" And we religious conservatives said, "so what? I am religious conservative, but I am not qualified to be on the supreme court."

He's correct. The Bushies made sure that Dobson, Falwell, et al got the nudge and wink about Miers and they got in line behind the prez. The fundamentalists didn't really have a problem because she was clearly close to being one of their own-- it was the intellectual wing that (rightly) did this in.

"That is how liberals view the court...we want this or that, we need someone who will go and "discover" it in the constitution. Conservatives flatly reject this notion as incredibly dangerous."

Actually thats how ideologues view the court from both the right and the left. The left doesn't have a monopoly on that view. And although "True" conservatives might stay clear of that--- it seems to me there aren't that many of them around these days.

OK, but I just gotta say:

"...you don't believe in war,
But what's that gun your totin'
And even the Jordan River has
bodies floatin'

And you tell ME
over and over again my friend,
You don't believe,
We're on the eve of destruction..."

Man...I must've played that record a thousand times when I was...fifteen? And spent today trying to keep it from running in my head all day. Barry McGuire. Had the album, not just the single. "The sins of the father fall on the daughter."

Jack, you gotta think about the seeds you plant. :-)

The line that says it all for me about these "compassionate" torturers who took us into this war is....

"Hate your next door neighbor, but don't forget to say grace."

"You may leave here
For four days in space
But when you return
It's the same old place
The poundin’ of the drums
The pride and disgrace
You can bury your dead
But don't leave a trace
Hate your next door neighbor
But don't forget to say grace"

If Bush were smart, he'd nominate Judge Richard Posner from Chicago -- the father of the law and economics movement. He's brilliant, he's exceptionally creative -- he even blogs! And as a judge, he's done a great job of keeping his ideology separate from his rulings.

Like I say, if Bush were smart... if pigs could fly...

"I may disagree with the medical marijuana law philisophically, but I believe in the 10th amendment enough to say that its up to the state to make the decision."

Substitute "slavery" for "medical marijuana," and you sum up Clarence Thomas perfectly.

Posner would actually be an evilly brilliant choice for a beleagured conservative President ("Question THOSE credentials, bitches!") -- but what Bush is not, is brilliant. I'm tentatively optimistic that Alberto Gonzales is no longer an option, in light of the excuse Bush used to withdraw Miers. "Tentatively" because I'm fully braced for him to nominate someone much, much worse than Gonzales.

The liberal world, it is exploding
Miers out, Hillary's loading
Jack's young enough to shill
For left wing voting
If you don't believe in Clinton
Then what's that Kerry button you're toting
And even Teddy Kennedy has a BMW floating
And you tell me over and over again my friend
That you don't believe you're on the eve of destruction

Jack,
Your description of a moderate Democrat matches my description of a moderate Republican. Wish there were more of us. Our country could use some moderation, all the way around.

And, FYI, anyone identifying the PDC as "leftie" needs to get out more.

You are joking, right?

"us lefties"

uh-oh... guess I'm on the wrong blog!