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What Comes Next?

By TChris, Section Supreme Court
Posted on Thu Oct 27, 2005 at 08:33:23 AM EST
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by TChris

The president announced his intent to select a replacement for Harriet Miers in a “timely manner.” Miers was torpedoed by extremist critics in the president’s own party, raising the fear of an appeasement pick.

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) cautioned Democrats to be careful what they wished for. "For those who were concerned that Harriet Miers was too conservative, you should not be too sanguine about this," Obama said.

Dick Durbin warned that the president is “almost certain to turn to a nominee that is embraced by the conservative wing of the Republican Party.” Harry Ried cautioned the president not to travel that road:

Harry Reid, D-Nevada, blamed "the radical right wing of the Republican Party" for ending Miers' nomination. "Apparently, Ms. Miers did not satisfy those who want to pack the Supreme Court with rigid ideologues," Reid said. "In choosing a replacement for Ms. Miers, President Bush should not reward the bad behavior of his right-wing base," he said.

The White House wants to deflect attention from indictments (no announcement on that front is expected today), and nominating an extremist might advance that plan. On the other hand, an administration crippled by scandal might not want to throw fresh meat to its opposition. So what comes next? This post speculates about the possibilities in a hopeful way, but the president’s actions seem to become less predictable (or more erratic) as his stress level increases. Your guess is as good as anyone’s.

< No Leaks Announcement Today | Reactions to Harriet Miers' Withdrawal >

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    What Comes Next? | 13 comments (13 topical)
    Re: What Comes Next? (none / 0) (#1)
    by profmarcus on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:26 PM EST
    jeffrey feldman over at kos has posted an excellent diary about how we need to be extremely sensitive to the wh communications strategy right now… his point is that the miers withdrawal was timed precisely to do the usual bushco “change the subject” and distract the media from the coming indictments… so far, it’s working… i highly recommend reading his diary in full… i have posted an excerpt and here are the links to my post as well as his diary… http://takeitpersonally.blogspot.com/ 2005/ 10/ on-changing-subject-and-being-wary-of.html http://www.dailykos.com/ storyonly/ 2005/ 10/ 27/ 94020/ 511

    Re: What Comes Next? (none / 0) (#2)
    by Dadler on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:26 PM EST
    Barack needs to stop worrying and start fighting. Dems need to pulls their heads out of their a*ses and realize if he nominates an extremist winger then he's dead in the water also. You will not destroy the Supreme Court like you destroyed Iraq with your simple-minded, nonsensical view of humanity. It is time to kick and stomp Bush politically. He is now more of a nothing than he ever was. Control of the country can be had, and the prez. can be made to be irrelevant through his increasingly recognized incompetence, corruption, and mental instability. In other words, no kidding you're gonna get another crappy nominee most likely. So stop crying and start battling.

    Re: What Comes Next? (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:27 PM EST
    Good for Harriet! She did the right thing and is now able to walk away with her head held high. I still take the position that the next nominee will be a WHITE WOMAN FROM THE FRINGE (sounds like the title for a great novel - it IS, written by Karl Rove!). Get ready for the bloodbath, cuz here it comes! This will show us all if the Dems have miraculously recovered their missing spines. I'm not holding my breath.

    Re: What Comes Next? (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:27 PM EST
    And as much as I HATE double-posts, I have to state this: the Dems pitbull may very well be none other than Sen. Barak Obama. This man SHINES, baby! He is incredibly articulate and the face of America's future. That he is black is actually an asset (I think), if you can believe it! Imagine that, black and NOT a token! Obama kicks ass! It's clobberin' time!

    Re: What Comes Next? (none / 0) (#5)
    by The Heretik on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:27 PM EST
    Nicely done, TChris. More on Miers at Revelation

    Re: What Comes Next? (none / 0) (#6)
    by squeaky on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:27 PM EST
    Lavoc-This sums it up nicely:
    The home team of Barack Obama and Patrick Fitzgerald defeated the Houston Astros right in front of the Bush family.
    RandyMI

    Re: What Comes Next? (none / 0) (#7)
    by Dadler on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:27 PM EST
    Lav, Hope you're right about Barack, I admire the guy certainly. I know he's a great story -- remember tho, there's millions of great stories in America, many better and more compelling than his. What will matter is how willing he is to risk the "greatness" of that story. Rocking the national boat is not for the nice.

    Re: What Comes Next? (none / 0) (#8)
    by aahpat on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:27 PM EST
    First; they had to withdraw Miers to avoid having the right wing in the senate filibuster her. After all of the rhetoric attaching negative connotations to filibusters and filibusters to Democrats it would be too much duplicity to have the right wing in congress filibuster her nomination on the floor of the senate. Once indictments come down there will be no distractions from the issues that the trials will illuminate. This means, like during Watergate, congress will come to a screeching halt. Oversight hearings will be the order of the day. No more confirmation hearings. Add to this the election cycle. The trials will just be starting at the outset of the primary cycle. A cycle full of baggage for the GOP. Miers being only the latest addition. Every GOP member who is running next year will be forced to share their media time with the Bush tribulations. This will have most of the GOP running FROM Bush. This week Ted Rall, the commentator/cartoonist wrote an essay on why Bush is unimpeachable HERE: WHY BUSH IS UNIMPEACHABLE by Ted Rall Here is why I disagree It includes many points relevant to this discussion.

    Re: What Comes Next? (none / 0) (#9)
    by cpinva on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:27 PM EST
    beware what you ask for, i understand anne coulter is looking for steady work. of course, there's always nancy "i never met an innocent defendent" grace waiting in the wings as well. true enough dadler, but your challenge might well be for the democratic party as a whole, not just for this one instant. until such time as a the dems get off their asses, decide what they actually believe in and stand for, stop whining about what nasty boys those republicans are, and fight fire with facts, they are doomed to irrelevancy as a party. if we want our candidates to win, we should stop supporting every numbnuts that comes down the line, just because he/she is purportedly a liberal democrat. those unable to clearly articulate their goals and aspirations for the country, and willing to fight tooth and claw for them, don't deserve our support. they'd be useless in office anyway. further, we should hold the MSM to a higher standard than we've seen for the past 15 years, when it essentially became a propaganda organ of the republican party. if the dems in congress aren't willing to filibuster, on a nominee that they see as unfit, why should bush care what the f*** they think?

    Re: What Comes Next? (none / 0) (#10)
    by Dadler on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:27 PM EST
    As I just posted in another thread, the Dems oughtta just come out with their OWN nominee and sell that person to the public hard, even if just to hilight what a great nominee looks AND sounds like. A little goddamn imagination, a pre-emptory SOMETHING is what we need. Not just this useless hand-wringing and speculating about how bad the next nominee might be.

    Re: What Comes Next? (none / 0) (#11)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:27 PM EST
    "if the dems in congress aren't willing to filibuster, on a nominee that they see as unfit, why should bush care what the f*** they think?" Clearly he doesn't. But he may when he gets their thumbs down in a few months, after the House, in an act which stuns the world, impeaches him.

    Re: What Comes Next? (none / 0) (#12)
    by aahpat on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:27 PM EST
    Depending on how the indictments come out I don't see the congress getting much done through the spring primary season. Even then most Republicans will be angry wasting all of their campaign media face time either making excuses for Bush and his cronies or denouncing them. The the basis for a winning campaign. Bush absolutely has to nominate someone who the Reich wing loves. They are dictating the show now for him. No moderates or progressives in America or the senate will accept this. George W. Bush officially became a lame duck today. A lame duck with only one wing. A right wing.

    Re: What Comes Next? (none / 0) (#13)
    by aahpat on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:27 PM EST
    Oops. TYPO CORRECTION: The the basis for a winning campaign. Should be: Not the basis for a winning campaign.

    What Comes Next? | 13 comments (13 topical)