NEWSFLASH: BUSH PLAYS RUSSIAN ROULETTE WITH SUPREME COURT NOMINEE

As most of you probably know already, President Bush has appointed Harriet Miers to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by Sandra Day O'Connor. This is in line with the implication in his earlier statement that the new justice would be a woman or minority.

Unfortunately for those of us who are strongly conservative Bush didn't pick a known strict constructionist, such as Janice Rogers Brown but rather an unknown quantity who just so happens to be one of his homies.

If you read the conservative blogs, listen to Rush, or check out the Townhall's latest columns you'll find that the reaction of most on the right is a feeling of betrayal. They point to the fact that Miers has no qualifications, no record, no paper trail of any kind except that she and Bush are best buddies. There seems to be no solid basis for saying that she is conservative, has the spine to not bend away from the Constitution or that A quick look at Alberto Gonzalez shows that this doesn't necessarily bode well for the Right. Ann Coulter makes the point well by pointing to what we were told when Bush Sr. appointed Souter.

It's possible that Miers turns out to be a great canidate. She's a Sunday school teacher, a faithful church-attender and openly confesses to be a Christian. She appears to be pro-life. In her speech accepting Bush's nomination she implied that she thought that the Constitution should be interpreted in the way the Founders intended it. Is that chance enough to make her a good pick?

I think not. Even is she turns out to be great, Republicans are going to burn in '06. We didn't vote for Bush because we wanted him to appoint his country club to high office. We voted for him because he promised us Scalias, Thomases and Borks. Instead he gives us “stealth” nominees that keep us guessing.

There are alot of Republicans out there saying that we need to trust the President. They say that he knows the lady well and that he wouldn't betray us. I look at his past appointments, the blossoming federal spending and I find it very hard to trust him. I think the words of Thomas Jefferson apply now as much or even more than the did when he spoke them: "The cost of freedom is eternal vigilance."

Edit: Even More Reasons to Fear Miers

The following quotes from prominent voices on the left scare me:

"I reserve the right to change my mind, but Miers' biggest sin, at this early juncture, is her allegiance to Bush. That her appointment is an act of cronyism is without a doubt, but if that's the price of admission to another Souter or moderate justice, I'm willing to pay it.
. . .
[M]y early sense is that this is already a victory -- both politically and judicially -- for Democrats. In fact, it should be great fund watching conservatives go after Bush. He may actually break that 39-40 floor in the polls, given he's just pissed off the very people who have propped up his failed presidency."

-The Daily Kos, hardcore leftist blogger

"I like Harriet Miers."

-Harry Reid, Seanate Minority Leader