Harriet Miers' nomination is the most disastrous thing Bush has done in a very long time. It's just a huge mistake.
Posted by Toby Petzold at October 4, 2005 04:12 PMDuckman, from what I can see, Miers is a personal pick for Bush. I don't believe he will let his base make him change his mind. If the Republicans thwart him, he's going to go wackadoodle. It could be fun to watch, but that's when he'll be dangerous. But his alternative pick would surely be a spiteful gut reaction, and therefore make matters worse for him.
It would be great for the Dems to be able to fall back on her lack of qualifications, but are there written qualifications for Supreme Court Justices? So far, I haven't encountered any sort of minimum guidelines in my blog travels so far. My gut tells me to trust Reid a little further, though. The next few days will tell us whether his endorsement has hurt Miers and Bush more than it has helped. It sure has given the freepers conniptions.
BTW, good job, Toby. The first step in getting rid of a problem is knowing you have one. Say it with me now...Bush...is...an...idiot. See how easy it is? And don't you feel better?
Posted by iamcoyote at October 4, 2005 05:53 PMI agree with trollToby, er, well maybe not totally. Bush has done lots of disastrous things in a very short time (4.5 years), and this is the most recent. The bald fact of it, as trolltoby indicates, is that this lady is in no way deserving of a seat on the Supreme Court any more than I am, or my dog for that matter. The fact that even trolls will admit that is the most brutal barometer of how far Bush has fallen off the map with his "base". Now, they are seeing what a failed Administration this is. Too bad it's cost 1935 GI lives... and counting.
Posted by T2 at October 4, 2005 06:20 PMChatterchat, meaningless. The own the congress jesusHchristosOnaKrutch it shld be clear by now that they don't care what progressives, liberals or anyone else thinks, as long as they have the power to make changes -- and that, as far as I can tell isn't something that polls control. He could have safely nominated Ann Coulter -- as far as our liberal dems are concerned...well, let's just say that Oregon's Ron Wyden voted to confirm the last one, after you and I and numerous others lobbied against him--when a no vote wouldn't have cost him anything -- except perhaps the animus of his Republican colleagues, who after all don't respect him anyhow and will do anything to undercut him despite his mealymouthed acquiescence. Fellow Dems, assume the position, no not THAT one.
Yeah, than one.
Posted by degustibus at October 4, 2005 07:03 PMOne has to wonder if Bu$hCo feels that they have achieved their domestic goal of completely neutralizing their opposition. They have the Patriot Act to use against any popular uprising, they have the only viable opposition party eating out of their hands, and the media has too many people with too little brain power tied up in knots making sure that the latest celebrity scandal gets the 'proper' exposure.
If one were to draw upon William Shirer's frightening history of the rise of the Nazis in Germany, one would note that we have reached the point today where the legislative branch is called upon to disolve itself, with the courts quickly following. At that point, the 'imperial presidency' is a reality in fact as well as in function.
Posted by pessimist at October 4, 2005 07:28 PMto be fair, toby has on many occasions distinguished himself from the trolletariat, particularly the fundies. i don't call him a troll.
Posted by benjoya at October 4, 2005 08:28 PMHe's said some fiery tidbits, but overall, he, J.West, and Muckdog are worlds better than Sarge or Bendito. At least they have something to say.
Posted by DukeRevolution at October 4, 2005 09:58 PMNEW MEME: Miers IS the New Abe Fortas. A crony personified, incompetent or barely so, a Presidential 'fixer' from way back, too busy covering for Bush & family to be on the USSC. Cheers, 'VJ', ga.
Posted by VJ at October 5, 2005 01:37 AMIt is Republicans who will put an end to the Cheney administration insanity.
Democrats do not exist as an opposition, period. I don't even appreciate the odd Pelosi or Boxer cojones, since they're meaningless in the big entrenched picture.
My two MD senators - Sarbanes and Mikulski. He's headed for cushy retirement, she doesn't dare call bullshit on Cheneyco because Rove would out her as a dyke in a second. She fears this and doesn't need to, she would and could be reelected till she's ninety. But fear is Rove's coin of the realm, and it works.
Fear fear fear - driving the Congress, driving the media.
USA, land of the once free, home of the afraid.
Brought to you by our lord and master Karl Rove.
Posted by Sharkbabe at October 5, 2005 04:52 AMThat's all they've got, babe. And it has to be pretty frightening if you know they can send anthrax to the top Senators in the Democratic party and get away with it. And how many reporters have they killed by accident to help cow the press? IT will be noted in the building?
I know I forget about the roots of the lefts lack of effectiveness, but that is a lot of it.
But we're Americans, dammit, we don't back down from a fight!
And frankly, I'm sick of the cowardice of my fellow Americans.
You're so right about Mikulski, why should she care?
So I guess we just need to show, scratch that, DEMONSTRATE that these idiots can't save us from what fear they've drummed into our collective psyche, then work on dispelling fear itself.
That's always been the thing that pisses me off the most about our "reaction" to 9/11, that daddy protect me bullshit. We've just got to overcome the fearmongering that thye bullies do so well, always have and always will.
Gotta FIGHT the mo fo's.
Posted by Duckman GR at October 5, 2005 06:52 AMSharkbabe,
I would have to agree with you. The corporate power that is driving our country will decide what to do with the failure that is the Bush administration.
I am starting to see an undercurrent of events that is washing away the criminal foundations of the current power base in DC. Is it a coincidence that almost every leading republican in DC is either in jail, under indictment or under severe threat? Why did all of this happen at once?
We now know that Abramoff, Delay and others were running protection rackets out of various state houses and we know of at least one murder of a prominent buisiness man connected with these schemes. The criminals in DC were starting to target their own corporate constituents in their schemes, presumably, to quote Willie Sutton, because "That's where the money is".
Perhaps the corporate powers that be are getting tired of all of the massively destructive behavior going on in DC right now and are using the legal system to bring down the incorrigable leadership that they themselves helped put in place.
I am not sure wheather to be heartened or depressed by the thought that the only people who can get us out of our current fix are the same people who threw us into it in the first place.
Posted by Growth Factor at October 5, 2005 07:04 AMGood post.
I think we Dems need to remember to use her confirmation hearings as the means BACK to Bushco scandals, though.
SHE was the one delivering the pre-9/11 PDB on August 6. SHE was the one fixing W's TxANG AWOL record. SHE was the one who apparently approved (by failing to challenge) Gitmo Gonzales' torture memos. SHE was the one helping hide W's 1976 drunk driving record until too late in the 2000 campaign to hurt him.
AFTER Senate Democrats are done using her to beat the shit out of W, THEN we can join the wingnuts in disposing of her as an unreliable crony.
I keep flashing on Dogbert's disposal of incompetent employees--not by firing them--but by using them as his "viruses" to infect competing departments throughout his company. Miers can be the roach that takes the poison back to the nest.
Posted by bartcopfan at October 5, 2005 07:14 AM"USA, land of the once free, home of the afraid."
Sharkbabe, great line. Think I'll use that as a bumper sticker.
Posted by Judith at October 5, 2005 08:28 AM