Ryan Lizza may be right about the debate over Miers, though the
power of the Supreme Court seems to argue more against lifetime
appointments in general than for or against any specific candidate. In
general, though, there are too many fissures in the “conservative
movement” to pin it all on whether we trust the president. I trust him
on some things and not on others. Whatever happens with Miers, or her
substitute, will be overshadowed soon enough by the nomination of Alan
Greenspan’s replacement, Republican spending cuts, what happens next in
Iraq, and tax reform. And then there are the Plame probe, the DeLay
indictment, and the Frist fracas. None of this even considers the
disappointing choices conservatives seem likely to have at the national
level in 2006 and 2008 (McCain or Giuliani? no wonder people want to
draft Condi). There’s been building frustration and discontent on the
right with most elected Republicans. Harriet just happened to be the
lightning rod.