The Anchoress

Lots of folks to link to today, but I’ll try to make it painless and entertaining. Or…you know, just painless:

I don’t really want to even write on Harriet Miers today, but there are just a couple of pieces worth noting:

John Hawkins polled right-wing bloggers on Miers with results that will not surprise, if you’ve been reading blogs at all this week!

Michelle Malkin has exhaustive links, particularly to those who have changed their minds and withdrawn their support of Miers or their “let’s wait and see” attitude.

Mark Steyn, on the other hand, seems slightly more amenable to the nomination than he was last week, in a half-hearted sort of way.

Jack Kelly has reprinted a post by a freeper named Pukin Dog, who claims to have a source who suggests - once again - that Miers’ nomination came from the President having his hands tied - that some desireable nominees did not want to endure the Democrats “scorched earth” relentlessness, others did not want their family matters aired, AND…the GOP Senate would not fight for those “desireables.” I have no idea who or what Pukin Dog may be or if any of this is real…but I can tell you that over the weekend what I was gleaning simply through reading was something similar - as I wrote to a friend who deeply opposes Miers:

There are several possibilities. Perhaps Priscilla Owen begged off this time, not in the mood for the hatchet job the dems would do on her having just endured a “mini-hatchet-job” last year. Perhaps Luttig has a “nanny” problem that he doesn’t wish to have bandied about and W is simply being discreet about it and taking the heat by not naming him.

Perhaps McCain and his merry band of 7, plus the usual RINOS did precisely what Novak said they did, telling Bush they would not FIGHT for such nominees, because they are all about looking “moderate” and having the press kiss their toes and so W knew going in that he would NEVER get his nominee passed…this was pretty much what I was suggesting today…that Bush is saying, “you don’t want to fight? Here’s Harrie - whom you do not like, but whom at least I TRUST…so I’ll name her…Now, you preening, media-addicted, cowardly effers, when Stevens retires, DON’T EFFING TELL ME YOU DON’T WANT TO EFFING FIGHT for the next one.”

The answer lies somewhere between who is being quiet and who is being quieter. Bush himself is being quite. McCain is being VERY quiet. His gang and the RINOS are being even quieter. I have said from the start that there is MORE to this nomination than we know.

Very likely, he found his hands tied in some way…something happened that made him feel like he did not have a good hand to play.

“Trust me,” is not a good enough reason to do so…I agree. But I don’t see the world ending, either. I think a great deal more damage will be done to the conservative cause by the destructive in-fighting we see than by Harriet.

Remember that whether we want to admit it or not, every event has a natural and a supernatural component to it. Bush is imperfect in many ways. But he is not an evil man. And yet by the prickling of my thumbs, I fear something wicked this way comes…Again, look to who is being quiet and who is served by all of this. It’s not Bush. It’s not Harriet. It’s not me or you. Who is being served, here? That is precisely where our attention should be focused. There is a heavy misdirection in all of this.

Jack Kelly closes with a rather similar thought: We have real enemies. George W. Bush isn’t one of them. But with friends like us, Bush doesn’t need enemies.

Richard at Brutally Honest has the solution!

Lorie Byrd has a lengthy and no-BS piece up at Polipundit:
I have not endorsed Miers’ confirmation, but have rather from the beginning argued that she should receive a fair hearing and an up or down vote….that I thought she should be given the opportunity to at least make her case. My main reason for taking that position is because we (Republicans and conservatives) have demanded the same from Democrats for at least the past four years and I honestly don’t see anyway to say Democrats should give the President’s nominees something that we as conservative Republicans wouldn’t also give them.

Lorie says she has concerns about the possibility of Miers’ needing to recuse herself on matters pertaining to the War on Terror - I share that concern - but like Lorie, I am also concerned about this idea that Miers should not be allowed to make her case before the Judiciary panel.

Don Singleton, on the other hand, has concerns that are Bigger than Miers and go back to Roberts. Egad!

AJ Strata is a Dog-faced loyalist. He also has a “test” for pundits embroiled in this melee.

Baroness Alexandra is having fun with images on this whole question. You might get a kick out of some of them. I like the dogfaces, myself. She also has some interesting commentary on originalism. Meanwhile Susan Salisbury is taking no prisoners.

Skymusings says look at the big picture.

Lastly: I pointed to this excellent essay by Baldilocks but I am linking to it again because there are so many interesting comments.