The Miers Debacle; a Great Opportunity for a Stronger GOP!
By Doug Hagin (10/28/05)
When a person is wrong, they should simply admit it and move on. Therefore, I admit that I was misguided in my most recent column. Apparently, Harriet Miers is not the proper choice for a seat on the Supreme Court after all. Clearly, President Bush, despite his stellar record on appointing well-qualified judges during his time in office, missed quite badly with his choice of Miers. I was wrong, and so was President Bush, now the question is, “where do we go from here?”
Now the president is not perfect and surely, he made a mistake. He has been given a tremendous opportunity, however, to correct his misstep. Miers has now withdrawn her name for consideration. She did the correct thing, and the honorable thing. She placed the best interest of this nation above her own welfare. For that, she deserves a great deal of credit.
Now to the opportunity her withdrawal has presented to both President Bush and the Republican Senators who control who the next justice will be. They can now take the Miers withdrawal and select and confirm a proven Conservative to the court. No more stealthy picks, Mr. President, please. Janice Rogers-Brown, Priscilla Owens, Emilio Garza, and several other picks would serve this country very well, if nominated and confirmed.
For President Bush it is a simple matter of not worrying about gender, or pleasing Charles Schummer or, Harry Reid, or any other Democrat. It is about not caring how big a hissy fit the Democrats throw when he tabs a nominee who will rule according to the United States Constitution, instead of Liberal ideology. Let them rant and rave Mr. President, let America see exactly what Conservatives stand for and what liberals stand for. America will choose Conservatism.
Now to the opportunity the Senate Republicans have been given. It is at least as big, and frankly likely, a bigger opportunity than the one offered President Bush by these events. Senate Republicans now have a perfect opening to exercise their majority. If they rediscover their spines and stand with the president, the Democrats cannot stop the nominee.
Let them bluster, let them threaten filibusters, let them talk all day about a consensus nominee. Let them whine to the media about allowing the court to be hijacked by the extreme right wing. Let Schummer and Biden go after the next nominee, and watch a Rogers-Brown or Owens or Garza show them for what they are.
Yes let them filibuster if they choose to. Use the nuclear option, end the filibuster and then vote to confirm the next justice. Working with the Democrats will not win Conservatives anything except bad deals and an even angrier, more dissatisfied Conservative base. Do not go there Senators!
Senate Republicans need to be willing to accept certain facts. Appeasing Democrats does not work. Trying to be liked by the media or Liberals or trying to appear more “inclusive” does not work. Republicans win elections when they act like Conservatives, so for goodness sake start acting like the Conservatives you campaigned as.
Americans are tired of judicial activism, and this is one of the reasons they have given the Republican Party control of the White House, Congress, the Senate, and the majority of governorships. Face it Republican leadership, we won! Now go out and act like it for goodness sake.
There is yet another golden opportunity to be seized by the Harriet Miers withdrawal. This opportunity is one all Conservative must jump on. As angry as many, if not most, Conservatives were at the naming of Miers to be the next associate justice; they are all too willing to support a judicial appointee who will be like Justices Scalia or Thomas.
Forget all the talk from the left about a fracturing majority party. The Republican Party can be much stronger, rather than weaker, if the President and Senate do their part, nominate, and confirm the right kind of justice. The Conservative base did their part when Miers was nominated. They raised their voices and demanded better.
These same Conservatives will be all too happy to forget Harriet Miers was ever even mentioned. In fact, they will be encouraged that the GOP has come to their senses and has decided to do whatever it takes to take on judicial activism and return the Supreme Court to the constitutionally mandated body it was meant to be.
This Republican Party will be stronger than ever, if it simply listens to its base and starts acting like Conservatives once again. One of the greatest attributes of Conservatism is its inherent sense of optimism. The right Supreme Court nominee will do more to restore and increase that optimism than we can realize.
The question is not if the Republican Party can come back stronger and more unified than ever. The question is will the leadership have the guts to take the steps necessary to bring this about.
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