Demagogue

I've noticed around the liberal blogosphere that there are some people who believe that the whole Miers controversy is some kind of superbly orchestrated trick, that the right is using reverse-psychology in their opposition to Miers so that Dems/liberals will like her just because they don't. I'd like to put this silly conspiracy to rest.

I think this Washington Post article nails the right's negative reaction to the nomination of Harriet Miers-- they're genuinely pissed.
Not only are high profile wingers throwing down the gauntlet over Miers, it is spilling over into their overall support for Bush.

The broader nature of the split becomes clearer with each conservative declaration of independence from the Bush White House. David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union, wrote yesterday that many of his friends "swallowed policies" they opposed out of loyalty to Bush.

"We've been there for him because we've considered ourselves part of his team," Keene wrote in an essay printed in the newspaper the Hill and e-mailed to fellow conservatives. "No more. From now on, this administration will find it difficult to muster support on the right without explaining why it should be forthcoming. The days of the blank check have ended."

With the nomination of Miers Bush broke his most important campaign promise he ever made to the right-- a Scalia/Thomas justice that would help overturn Roe as well as rule the way the want on other controversial social issues. The right has been working towards this goal ever since 1963 when the court ruled 8-1 in favor of an atheist's argument that school-sponsored prayer is unconstitutional. They don't mention this case as much as they used to, but their outrage over Murray is the very foundation of the modern right-wing conservative Christian political movement. With this in mind I think it is crystal clear that many of them are genuinely angry and feeling betrayed with the nomination of Miers.

Bush had to have known that his right-wing conservative Christian base has been gearing up for an epic SCOTUS battle and that it was one of the primary reasons they have supported him all this time. What I truly can't quite figure out is why did Bush do it?