Miers or Less: The Fight Goes On

President Bush
nominated
White House counsel Harriet Miers this morning to be an Associate Justice on the United States
Supreme Court. And conservatives are underwhelmed.

Conservatives want a nominee that can stick it to the Democrats and teach them a lesson. But the
President is clearly signaling that he doesn’t want a knockdown drag out fight. The Roberts nomination
seemed to have been made on the basis of going as conservative as possible without provoking the
Democrats to a fight. And the Miers nomination has to be seen in the same light.

Conservatives should understand that the big problem on the Supreme Court is not in the
character and beliefs of individual
nominees and whether they get turned into liberals by their years on the court and by the need
to be liked and win
“Strange New Respect” from the Washington media. The challenge is for conservatives to create the judicial atmosphere that makes
the conservative philosophy the default position for a go-along-to-get-along justice.

If conservatives want to win on the court, year in year out, no matter who gets on the court, then
we must win in the battle of ideas. When that happens the swing votes on the court, the Souters and
the Kennedys, will weathervane over to our side.

It is easy, when your guy is in the White House, to imagine that he can fire a magic bullet and
change the court to your liking. Reality is not so easy.

Reality is getting up every morning and going to work, determined to change hearts and minds, one at a time, issue by
issue.