"If we don't take Miers, Bush's next pick could be worse." I don't get it.

How could anybody be WORSE?

Miers is a fundamentalist right-wing anti-abortion corporatist. What are we afraid of getting stuck with, Attila the Hun? Miers is as bad as they come, compounded with a disgustingly thin resume. The only reason I could see accepting Miers is that she's such a lightweight, judicially, that she could wind up being easily cowed by the arguments of other SCOTUS members -- on the left as well as the right. Not a comforting prospect. And I don't see any reason that we can't say no to Miers AND filibuster Owens or some other extreme Bushista. I mean, the republican party of corruption and cronyism has so little credibilty, we should be able to stand up against anyone we want. That's the rules. And I don't think America would suddenly rally to the side of the right wing extremists if they took the nuclear option in retaliation. Their game has been exposed. Hang them with their own rope.

If we had a strong leadership, they should easily be able to make the case that with sub-40 poll numbers, Bush does not have the support of the American people, and therefore they are under no obligation to rubber stamp his nominees, since he has demonstrated clearly that he doesn't take the process, or the position, seriously.

Oh, wait...I just re-read my last 'graph, and the caveat is clear...if we had a strong leadership. We'll get the same dems whining in front of the talking heads "oh, we should just try to get along with Mr. Bush!" }pointing finger at Lieberbush{

We, the democrats, The American People owe Bush NOTHING. He's left us bankrupt and scorned the world over. Fuck him and his SCOTUS picks. I want a nominee who will vote against his illegal consolidation of power, not another of his bought and paid for rubber-stamp cronies.

How About:

Ted Olson (now Solicitor General of the United States)
Ken Starr (now Dean of the Pepperdine Law School)
Janice Rogers Brown (now on the D.C. Court of Appeals)
Priscilla Owen (now on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals)
Ann Coulter (of the New York Bar)
Henry Hyde (of the Ohio Bar)
Jeb Bush (of the Florida Bar)
Lindsay Graham (of the South Carolina Bar)
Orrin Hatch (of the Utah Bar)

Need I go on?

Also, I would love to pull Pepperdine's accrediation.

THINK just for a moment of Lindsay Graham, that snide little sh*t, in the black robes.

Ugh.

Hey, at least we all know that the right supremes are a circus act.

They're from the aristocrats, I hear.

Why not? One of the nut-bags will get in anyway, is your argument. All we have to do is keep pointing out the POLLS to them...THEY'RE GOING TO LOSE BIG IN 2006 the way they're going. Fine. Nuke 'em. We'll be running things in a year, and you will have fucked yourselves over big time. We'll ram every lefty dream legislation down your throats, and you won't be able to do a damned thing about it if you pule the trigger now.

This hardball. I just don't think we have anyone in our party with the balls to play it.

And from now till then, B*sh has the Constitutional authority to appoint someone, and the Pubbie-controlled Senate has the Constitutional authority to confirm.

If you're saying the strategy should be to play for time, then I agree wholeheartedly -- but you didn't make that clear.

An outright filibuster is a crude method, and risks a backlash.

Better to take a few trips to the mound first. The storm clouds may come and rain out this affair.

All of them are more qualified. Even Coulter. Even Jeb Bush is more qualified.

Now it goes without saying that I don't want ANY of them on the court. But the fact remains that Miers is an UNQUALIFIED right wing nutcase.

Well, I'm sure (s)he knows all about New York bars.... :P

whoever bush offers for consideration is sure to be a radical theo-fascist in line with the rest of his administration. This one's reach however, will last for decades.
bush no longer has his "mandate", if indeed he ever did. A majority of Americans no longer support him or his conservative agenda. I don't think he should be allowed to dictate who is going to represent the citizens of this country on the nation's highest court. There is very little we can do about it however. A slight majority (and/or Diebold) chose him last November, they would NOT choose him again at this point in time however.

If there is no viable candidate, "our course is clear". ;)

Also, we really don't know much about Harriet Miers beyond the evangelical church, the corporate law firm, her lack of experience in constitutional law, and her unmarried state. And that is nothing on which to base a vote for her nomination.

We would stand together and not vote for any appointment from the unqualified, unelected, and corrupt usurper sitting in our White House.
Let the repugs fight it out among themselves.

First they should stand their ground about all documents and memos on Miers. They back down on Roberts. Compromising with the RW is always a mistake. The RW is at War on the Middle Class and below. Their goal is to turn Amerika into a Imperialist Corporate Serfdoom.

kind of three ring circus has our county become.

We know that brown and owen are right wing extremists of the worst kind. We do NOT know that about Miers. We know almost nothing about her. There is a chance that she would be a moderate. There is NO chance that Owen or Brown would be a moderate.

Bush has a track record--a nearly perfect track record--of nominating extremists.

The only non-extremist he's nominated so far is Norman Mineta, and I think he got through because no one Bush knows wants to be secretary of transportation.

Janice Rogers Brown has published essays suggesting that New Deal programs such as Social Security are unconstitutional because they are "socialism"... she regularly ignores precedent, and is a token opposed to affirmative action, civil rights, etc.

http://saveourcourts.civilrights.org/nominees/nominees/brown.html

Priscilla Owen was called "Judge Enron" by her colleagues in Texas. Even Abu Gonzalez considers her an extremist.

http://saveourcourts.civilrights.org/nominees/nominees/owen.html

You REALLY trying to pretend that Harriet is worse than eithe rof those?

"And I don't see any reason that we can't say no to Miers AND filibuster Owens or some other extreme Bushista."
Ah, another DUer with no grasp of politics at all.

Tell me, if all 44 Democrats vote "no" and all 56 Republicans vote "yes," how many magic beans will be needed to make 44 bigger than 56?

Oh, and piss off with your condescension. "Another DUer with no grasp of politics?" Yeah, that's me...the noob! LOL!

It will either be Miers or someone 15 years younger with even more rightwing ideas.

Can you name a single person that Bush could conceivably nominate that you would willingly support? I know I can't.

The filibuster is worthless when Republicans have the ability to erase it with 51 votes.

which is the last resort, and likely to be very costly to Dems who confront a fully-Republican media that no longer protects Americans but is in league with those who exploit Americans, before we've even heard her talk. You're off on a tear before the introductions have even been made. Slow down. If a filibuster is warranted, we'll deal with it.

For now what we have is right-wingers across the board incensed at the choice of Miers. Even people who know her personally. That's a gift horse some Dems insist on not only looking in the mouth, but shooting sight unseen. This is the time to enjoy Republicans furious at their own party while we figure out how to deal with the nomination. Republicans may conceivably scotch her all on their own without us having to throw down with a filibuster.

I have a feeling that Miers isn't as far right as everybody here naturally assumes. I'm more than willing to be proven wrong, and then to take measures, even extreme if she turns out to be Rogers-Browny. You're not even thinking, just reacting to your - and our, make no mistake - worst fears.

So Democrats are supposed to filibuster until 2008? Uh-HUH.

"Yeah, that's me...the noob!"
You sure sound like it.

By the way, does this mean you're conceding that the two I named are worse than Miers?

Sorry, Benchly. I don't see much point in discussing anything with someone he climbs atop a high horse and starts insulting people right out the gate. If you disagree with the points I raise, I'd be interested in trying to find some common ground. However, you don't seem to share such a goal. Good day, sir.

"someone he climbs atop a high horse and starts insulting people right out the gate. "
My goodness, for somebody who wants to spout rubbish about Democrats whining and being weak., without seeming to have any grasp of politics whatsoever, either...

She will follow John Roberts's lead on Roe v. Wade and then disappear into history.