Trading Miers Away: A Crony for a Cro-Magnon

October 27, 2005

Well, I lost money on Harriet Miers.

Foolish me, I thought that no matter how woefully unqualified she was, that when Bush came to shove, the Republican Senators would give him what he desperately wanted—which was another crony appointment.

What I underestimated was the fury on the right that Miers had not paid her anti-abortion dues—that she had not walked on the hot coals long enough.

So let’s not kid ourselves here.

Miers didn’t step down because she flunked the Con Law exam that Senator Specter was administering.

No, she stepped down because she flunked the loyalty oath that the anti-abortion ayatollahs were administering.

Miers had made the mistake of leaving an ambiguous paper trail that suggested she had at least entertained the imprudent thought that maybe, just maybe, Roe v. Wade was the settled law of the land and that a woman, at this late date, did have some claim to “self-determination.”

She even said, back in 1993, “Legislating religion or morality we gave up on a long time ago.”

All of this was way, way too much for the unappointed guardians of the unborn.

And since they were, up till the moment Bush nominated Miers, the only group that could be relied upon to buoy this drowning President, Bush could not afford to lose them, too.

So beware. The next appointment is likely to be even further to the right than Miers. Smarter, more credentialed, more confirmable—and more dangerous.

The trade of a crony for a Cro-Magnon conservative may not turn out well for women or for this country.