I just can't resist!

Hugh Hewitt continues his shilling for the Miers nomination. I’ll take his bait (numbers were not in his post).

1. Does George W. Bush deserve any loyalty from his party? From pundits identified with his party? If so, how much and why not more?
2. Do Harriett Miers' many accomplishments count for nothing?
3. Does Harriett Miers strike the commentator as a dedicated public servant?
4. Why not wait for the hearings to at least begin?
5. How important is it that Roe v. Wade/Casey be reversed?
6. Which five precedents does the commentator think are in most pressing need of reversal?
7. Does the commentator agree with George Will's assertion of Justice Lewis Powell as the "embodiment of mainstream conservative jurisprudence?"
8. Is a neo-Borking underway which will discredit the conservative cause's defense of its future nominees against similar, future attacks from the left?
9. What are the political consequences of a defeat of Miers at the hands of a GOP controlled Senate?

1. W deserves some loyalty from both his party and from pundits associated with his party when he acts on principle and in a way that advances the interests most crucial to the person in question. When W errs, it is incumbent on his erstwhile political allies to call his attention to the error and attempt to correct him.

2. Miss Miers’ many accomplishments have been duly noted. Some find that the accomplishments of others are more notable. There is no shame in this.

3. It is beyond question that Miss Miers is a dedicated public servant. Meaning no disrespect, I know a postman who is very dedicated. No one would suggest that he is qualified to sit on the Supreme Court.

4. Is it not better to start fixing something broken sooner rather than later?

5. More important than any foreign or domestic policy question facing the United States.

6. Casey, Roe, Griswold, Lawrence and Evans.

7. No. I’d say that Scalia fits that bill.

8. No, this is an attempt to prevent either (a) a bruising fight with Congress – likely over Congress’ access to executive branch documents or (b) the appointment to the Supreme Court for life of a person who strikes the impartial observer as both a crony and someone whose skills, while formidable, are not those likely to exert a positive influence on the Court in decades to come, such as a Justice Scalia.

9. That is an open question. Many other simultaneous and unrelated issues will come into play here. Should energy prices plummet and inflation be held at bay, W will still be strong. Should Fitzgerald indict WH staff members, W will be weakened. Time will tell. A corollary question would be “what are the political consequences of social conservatives feeling that they’ve been ruthlessly exploited by the GOP?”