Redstate

Withdrawal would be a very sensible and logical move at this point. I would hardly be surprised if such an event were to take place tomorrow afternoon right around the time where it gets really hard for the evening news people to make it their lead story and analyze how this was such a huge failure for the President, etc.

And I really hope that President Bush doesn't make it an even greater failure by keeping the fight going all the way until the senate rejection.

If Miers intends to press on with her nomination this strikes me as an incredibly bad move.   Based on the meetings to date the Senators, both Republican and Democrat, don't think very highly of her and many are wondering about her competence for this job.  Instead of pressing on with the meetings and trying to sway some Senators into her camp they've decided to give up all together.   IF she can't handle the one on one meetings I don't see anyway possible she makes it past the judiciary committee.  

Senators Brownback and Graham are now demanding the White House release her papers while she was White House counsel to shed light on her non-existent judicial philosophy, which is going to put them at odds with the White House on the executive privilege issue.   Some see this as Republicans laying the groundwork for a "no" vote should it come to that.

I see this as the precursor to one of two things:  She plans to withdraw before the hearings, or they've accepted the fact she's lost the battle in the Senate and they are holding onto the hearings as their last stand.

P.S - For those that believe markets are indicators, when this news hit TradeSports the price of her confirmation contracts plunged more than 20 points, the current contract has her at 49.5 for confirmation.

her name was Mildred Lillie, whose intended consideration had been leaked by the ABA during the pre-nomination vetting process. After it was clear Lillie didn't stand a chance, the Nixon administration did what Bush should do: it pulled her name and moved on to someone else. A defeat on the merits would be more embarrassing to the administration than a withdrawal and renomination of someone the base can be excited about.

.. but the NYT today indicates they may be cancelling the meetings so that Miers can complete her "crash course in Con Law":

Some conservative lawyers and Republican aides said Thursday that Ms. Miers needed further preparation and that her meetings with senators were leaving such a poor impression that they should be ended for more murder board time, said three people who listened to a conference call organized by Leonard A. Leo, a lawyer working with the White House to organize support for judicial nominees.

Mr. Leo said the call was an ordinary discussion about "process," and the White House said it was sticking to its plans. The conference call was first reported Thursday by the National Review Web site.

I think Bush could have gotten away with this less than stellar nomination, if Miers could have wowed the senate during these meetings, if anything she has been the opposite of "wow."

Even if she does get confirmed it is probably going to be bad on both sides of the aisle on this one.

I doubt Bush will withdraw the nomination-he is too loyal (one of the things that I think is a weaknessin him, since he should have ditched Tenet a long time before he did)).  Miers is either going to have to see the writing on the wall, and step up to do the job herself, or it goes forward.

Probably is the dems aren't going to like her much given the fact that the one issue she probably is to some degree good on is the abortion one, and the GOP isn't liking her.

This isn't going to be pretty, but it won't even be ugly in a Bork or Thomas way-the ugliness is probably going to come from both ends of the political spectrum.

it isn't so much that she isn't a justice or had no judicial experience-I am fine with appointing somebody whose experience is mostly litigation.  My objection is that she doesn't seem to have any experience in consitutional law.

One thing that I liked about Roberts was that he had a lot of experience arguing from the other side of the SCOTUS bench.  Miers just seems to lack that kind of experience.

What scares me is that the last thing we need on the bench is somebody who doesn't know their consitutional law making decisions based on the constitution-sounds like a recipe for judicial activism to me.

If Bush delays withdrawl in the face of what is very likely going to be a blood letting and possible defeat, it's a further defeat for those of us in the pro-life movement since it means that SDO will once again rule that Partial Birth Abortion cannot be banned.

If anyone inside the white house reads these blogs, please push for an early withdrawl so we can get someone else on the court by Thanksgiving.

Think KAREN WILLIAMS.

Don't get demoralized.  The pro-life movement will get what they are looking for in Miers if she is confirmed.  Read between the lines.  This is the abortion battle and the Democrats are waging the battle under disguise of not qualified.  As loyal Republicans don't be fooled by this tactic of the MSM and the Liberals.  They know she will overturn Roe v Wade but they can not directly attack her on this ground because they supposedly don't have a litmus test.

We in the Conservative ranks need to come together and recognize that President Bush is delivering but in a stleath way.

Victory is in sight, lets not blow it.

http://www.intrade.com/jsp/intrade/contractSearch/index.jsp?query=supreme+c
ourt

If we are lucky she will quit by this weekend instead of going into the hearings and making an absolute fool of herself.

It would be better.

It's not, so it isn't.

She has wowed them for sure, it's just the wrong way. Senators seem to be stunned at just how bad she is.

I feel terrible for her, personally.

to overturn Roe V. Wade.  Some of us actually want a capable conservative justice who is able to command some respect on all rulings through writing of opinions.  If she turns out to be the unqualified hack that many of us suspect and she does overturn abortion, the dems will win in a landslide in upcoming elections.  We need a conservative justice that is repsected and able to sway through words.

just what an awful choice this was.  I hope, for her sake as much as anything else, that the nomination is withdrawn before the hearings.  She will be cut apart by the Ds and Rs won't be trying to save her.  And from what we've seen, she simply doesn't have the skill to protect herself.  

A Chimp could be taught to vote with Scalia and Thomas all the times.  I want a strong voice for the conservative movement whose voting is based on the constitution and opinions are well thought and strongly worded.

This isn't about one issue, it is about how the court conducts itself.  Reversing Roe only returns the issue to the states and states like NY, MA, RI, VT and many more will continue to allow abortions.  Roe is bad law and the major example of how nine unelected, unaccountable judges created "law" to meet their personal political views.  The Kennedy juvenile death penalty opinion last year citing "international law" was a similar instance of justices looking beyond the constitution to justify a personal view in their decision.

I find the view that a nominee needs to be put on the Court by Date X to provide a particular vote on a particular case to be noxious.  This is a lifetime appointment.

I'm not saying to confirm Miers now even though she'll be bad longterm.

I'm saying get her out sooner.

Would you have liked to have someone else confirmed pre-Roe (or Pre-Casey since it was 5-4) if it had made a difference?

I agree that getting it right LONG TERM is the most important thing.  It's just that there are so many 5-4 decisions float around that short term matters as well.

the Medal of Freedom and be done with it.  Instead of a WH ceremony where Tenant was handed a dunce cap ,he  received this coveted[?] honor,it was a slam dunk.  Then appoint Harriet to a PTA somewhere.  My guess is neither Harriet or George will retreat and the Senate hearings will receive higher ratings than the World Series plus an Emmy for comedy.

I'd be buying that contract... Bush is going to push her through .. not what I want, but realistically.

Beyond single issue "victory", the fear I have with what I have seen and read to date is that support for Ms. Miers is result driven.  "She will vote our way", "she will vote with Scalia/Thomas/Roberts".

Simply, results oriented voting is exactly the current problem with the judiciary.  Blind Justice does not take sides and when she does, be prepared for her to be on the `wrong' side.  The law is to be applied and policy legislated.

The White House as reversed their position, yet again, meetings will continue.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/21/AR200510210
0658.html

I haven't been spending as much time on blogs as I have in recent months, and that probably will continue. But does anyone see a connection between what Coburn is trying to do, and the Miers nomination? I mean, we can't even get 15 votes to cut less than $500MM when the country is begging for fiscal restraint, what makes you think we could get a majority for a solid known-quantity originalist.

Just a drive by comment. I probably won't respond to any comments, or even bother to check.

One can never underestimate the cowardice of a Senator.

That's why many of us are trying to get Miers out before the Hearings - if she makes it to Committee, the cowardly "lions" of the Senate are likely to confirm her, no matter how bad she is.

This, ultimately, is the "Doomsday Scenario" for the GOP - an out-of-touch President and a scared-of-their-shadows Senate conspiring to put an obviously unqualified person on the SCOTUS.

That happens, and the disgust with the entire political system (Dems & GOP both) will be so palpable that GOP loses in 2006 would be just the tip of the iceberg. We're talking one-in-a-century political party realigment time that will expose "Perotism" as the inconsequential blip it was.

STOP THIS NOMATION NOW. Before it is too late...

Alberto Gonzalez....

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/006807.php

Basically, there's an options trading site where you can buy/sell options on political process and miers being confirmed is looking pretty bad...

I'm pretty sure it's not a reversal when a newspaper runs with a story from an an anonymous source reporting a change is coming and the white house denies it. It looks to me like such a decision was never made.