By Chase McLauchlin
Mr. President, your conservative base has supported you through thick and thin. They ignored your outlandish spending agendas. They looked away as you created steel quotas. They did not complain over your astronomical subsidy for prescription drugs; some even praised you for keeping your promise. They prayed when you fumbled the Kerry debates. They forgave you for not finding WMD?s in Iraq. They even gave you the benefit of the doubt with John G. Roberts ? his only evidence for being conservative is that you nominated him.
But Mr. President, nominating Harriet Miers as your next Supreme Court justice is the last straw. You have gone too far. You have disenfranchised your base.
In comparison to Harriet Miers, John G. Roberts looks like a conservative poster child. He has impeccable credentials. He has studied at the finest schools and has been mentored by this age?s finest legal minds. He is a master of the legal system with the discipline and character to adjudicate according to the rigorous meaning of the constitution. Nonetheless, Roberts? record shows no evidence that he is a Scalia or Thomas.
Miers graduated from SMU, contributed heavily to the Democratic Party in the 80?s, converted to Christianity and ?conservatism? and became president of the Texas Bar. Such esteemed accomplishments in interpreting constitutional law made Miers a bosom buddy of the President. And whaddayaknow, she?s a Supreme Court nominee.
Her paper trail consists of switching parties (always a symbol of moral fortitude), arguing on behalf of clients, and cheerleading for the President.
Her obscure record on constitutional interpretation echoes all of the wrong reasons for nominating Roberts. But she also lacks the judicial and academic credentials that made Robert?s nomination tolerable.
So what do you have to say for yourself, Mr. President? You?re answer is ?trust me.? Why? Your father ? someone I once felt was a much weaker president than you ? got Clarence Thomas nominated despite sexual harassment allegations and a Republican minority in the Senate. Reagan, again with a Republican minority, appointed Scalia.
With 55 senators and a stockpile of political capital, what are you so afraid of? It can?t be that there aren?t any other qualified conservatives in the federal judicial system. It can?t be Harry Reid?s pouting filibusters.
You have your base asking why. She?s a crony? No doubt. Your political confidence is waning? It looks that way. You?re going loony? We?re all wondering.
This, of course, is why your base feels disenfranchised ? even betrayed. Granted, there are those who?d support you even if you nominated your daughter Jenna. But some of your most loyal supporters are scratching their heads. Rush Limbaugh called her nomination a ?blunder? and ?made from weakness.? Bill Kristol mentioned that Miers would be doing you a favor if she stepped down. David Frum, who knows Miers personally, claimed she isn?t up for the job. Laura Ingraham, Charles Krauthammer and George Will have all voiced frustration.
These two nominees will irreversibly affect the next twenty-five years of legal evolution. The American people have undoubtedly rallied behind the conservative ideals that you ran on. You have the Senate, House, and voters backing your decision. You have the power to tip the scales of the court. Their judgments can overturn Roe v. Wade, protect the sanctity of marriage and restore the original meanings of the Constitution. Now should be a time of great hope ? a restoration of American ideals. Instead you have only offered disappointment and despair.
Mr. President, prove us wrong!
I desperately want to put my foot in my mouth. I?m dying to look like a buffoon ? some knee-jerk conservative. I?d be ecstatic if Miers actually is a wise and unwavering conservative. I hope she is zealous in restoring constitutional interpretation to the original intent of its writers, not some reflection of the social conscience. But why, Mr. President, must we rely on hope when you could have just as easily put in a strong and qualified conservative?