Author: BooMan

I cringe every time I hear the we-must-appoint-a-woman mantra or the-fairer-sex-will-save-the-day schtick, but it’s not just blind chauvinism. Call it informed chauvinism. You see, the governing principle here is that finding a traditional woman in the political arena is a little like finding a NOW member in a full-length burka.

Think about it: generally speaking, where do you find good, conservative, traditional women? The answer is in the home, not the House. Traditional women are usually devoted to traditional endeavors, such as raising their children and tending to hearth and home. And when they are forced by necessity into the workaday world, they’re usually doing merely what is required to put three squares on the table. They’re not seeking to exalt themselves through careerism.

At the other end of the spectrum you find the Hillary Clintons, Barbara Boxers and Diane Feinsteins of the world. These women drank deeply of the cup of feminist Kool-Aid, imbibing its precept that fulfillment can only be found through worldly pursuits which, as we all know, were selfishly reserved for men, by men. Simply put, a traditional woman’s greatest dream is to raise a family; a feminist woman’s greatest dream is to create a village that can raise a family.

White House and Republican Party officials are scrambling to rein in conservative activists critical of President Bush’s nomination of White House counsel Harriet Miers to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

Ken Mehlman, chairman of the Republican National Committee, yesterday held a conference call with conservative leaders to address their concerns about Miers. He stressed Bush’s close relationship with Miers and the need to confirm a justice who will not interfere with the administration’s management of the war on terrorism, according to a person who attended the teleconference.

And this past weekend, Karl Rove, the White House deputy chief of staff, sought to persuade conservative leaders that Miers was a nominee they could trust if confirmed to the high court. In particular, Rove “worked over” Dr. James Dobson, chairman of Focus on the Family, who is one of the most influential conservatives in the country, according to one conservative leader…

Conservatives began expressing their anxiety about Miers soon after Bush announced her nomination early yesterday morning.

One member of the Senate Judiciary Committee closely allied with the conservative base, Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), declined to state his reaction to Miers yesterday…

Mehlman yesterday unveiled a politically powerful argument linking Bush’s nomination to the war on terrorism. He said that as a former White House counsel Miers would know the importance of not letting the courts or the legislative branch “micromanage” the war on terrorism.

But Mehlman deflected questions about Miers’s political contributions and Reid’s endorsement of her, saying that he was not fully aware of what Reid said about her and that the party would conduct further research about her.

I think people under-estimate president Bush’s view of his own office. He believes he has had his one accountability moment in power: it was the last election. As we have seen from his refusal to acknowledge his own out-of-control spending or abrogation of settled American law against abusing military detainees, he really does believe he is above the usual sense of accountability. That’s why conservatives who think that it’s a smart thing to criticize him now, rather than before the election, are fooling themselves. This guy will do what he wants. If he wants to pick a close friend and flunky, whatever her virtues, as a Supreme Court Justice, passing over dozens of other brilliant legal minds and more experienced jurists more acceptable to his base, that’s what he’ll do. And that’s what he’s done.

Disaster, Thy Name Is Harriet Miers

George Bush’s decision to appoint Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court is bitterly disappointing. Miers is a Bush crony with no real conservative credentials, who leapfrogged legions of more deserving judges just because she was Bush’s pal…. To merely describe Miers as a terrible pick is to underestimate her sheer awfulness as a selection.