Harriet Meiers...

Several notions are already coming to the forefront, and I wanted to commit my thoughts to words for the sake of posterity.

Many Bush supporters are repeatedly mentioning how the President's choices for other federal court judges have been strongly conservative, and therefore the Meiers nomination, as well as the Roberts nomination, must fit this mold. Essentially, we're being told by the diehards that by appointing Janice Rogers Brown and others like her, we can be sure that Harriet Meiers will stronly uphold the Constitution as intended by its authors.

Of course, such logic is faulty at best, and dangerous at worst.

The reality is that the Supreme Court acts as the boss of the lower courts, and the lower courts are supposed to use Supreme Court rulings to direct their own rulings on cases which come before the appellate courts.

Therefore, by this theory, Janice Rogers Brown is helpless to overrule the opinions of the Supreme Court. As such, Harriet Meiers would find herself in the position to neuter any "originalism" on the part of various appellate judges heralded as "strong constructionists".

So, in classic Bush fashion, I predict that he has carefully calculated his judicial strategy as follows. Nominate people to lower courts who satisfy the voting base, but only nominate people to the Supreme Court who will go along with the New World Order agenda of George Bush and his corporate puppeteers. When the voting base expresses concern for SCOTUS nominees, simply point to the appellate appointments and suggest a trend.

Of course, the problem in all of this is that the White House will never explain exactly what it is about Janice Brown or Priscilla Owen that caused the President to choose someone other than them. Remember, these women (and some others as well) have clear track records of strong conservatism and a fundamental understanding of Constitutional application according to the intent of our nation's founders.

Overall, one poster on Free Republic put it best. The immediate fallout of this nominee exposes a big problem for the Republican party lurking just under the surface. Clearly mainstream America does not support the far left agenda of the Democrat party, but the majority of Americans, and conservatives specifically, do not trust President Bush. Though many people thinly veil their distrust with patriotic rhetoric, those who vote according to a basic philosophy have been ignored by this President time and again.

In the end, knowing nothing about Ms. Meiers, I make my analysis by the reaction of the media and individual Americans who call radio talk shows or post on internet web sites. I suspect that she will emerge as a center-left judge who won't do much to advance an agenda on either side. In other words, she won't push the court to the left but she won't do anything to pull it back to its appropriate role in American government. On key issues, she will not be willing to side with Justices Thomas and Scalia.

One more slash in the heart of conservatism as it dies a slow death by a thousand cuts in America.