Miers Withdraws

Today, October 27, Harriet Miers
withdrew
her nomination to be an associate justice on the
United States Supreme Court. So that’s over. The question is: What comes next? Or, to put it another
way, what does the captain of a mutinous company do to stop the growling and scowls from his
licentious soldiery?

The answer is obvious. Lead them into battle. And he should not just lead them into a fight but
make it perfectly clear that he expects them to win.

So maybe, after the Miers debacle, President Bush will nominate a good solid, qualified conservative
for the court, someone like Judge J. Michael Luttig or like Judge Michael W. McConnell.

Then he can say
to the Miers opponents, or imply: ok, you guys,
you wanted a conservative on the court. I’ve got one right here. Now, after all your whining and
grumbling show me what you can do. And let me make something clear. There is a difference between
trying and doing. We are not talking about fighting for the new nominee. We are talking about
fighting and winning.

Will that approach work? It could. The Miers nomination has raised a huge dust cloud that has
obscured the old Supreme Court battlefield. Ever since the election of Bush in 2000,
liberals and conservatives have been lining up for a set-piece battle, with conservative hordes preparing
to attack liberals in their Roe v. Wade citadel.

But now the story has changed. After the successful Roberts nomination and the Miers debacle
the old set-piece battle is not longer on the cards. The next nomination battle will be different.
How different? Well, we shall see.