17 Oct 2005 Bush White House Threats on Miers

Is the White House getting desperate over Miers?

President Bush’s “friends” threaten Bush will exact retribution against conservatives who oppose the Miers nomination:

Bush’s friends contend that it is the conservative elite, not the President, who miscalculated and that self-righteous right-wingers stand to lose their seats at the table of power for the next three years. ‘They’re crazy to take him on this frontally,’ said a former West Wing official. ‘Not many people have done that with George Bush and lived to tell about it.’

-From “Why They Can’t Hit The Right Note” Time, by Mike Allen, posted online 10/16/05.

Too bad Time doesn’t name names.

If this stupid “threat” was sanctioned, the White House is feeling exceptionally desperate.

Things I wonder…

1) Where is the “table of power”?

2) If we have a seat on it, how is it we asked question #1?

This reminds me of when husband David and I were told we were banned from the White House of Bush 41 because we took the conservative position on a major issue instead of the Bush White House position, and the score read: Conservatives 1, Bush White House, 0.

The ban itself wasn’t much (they let me in later when I had the honor of being invited to Clarence Thomas’s swearing-in ceremony on the White House lawn). I assumed even then it really only meant that certain individuals on the staff were really mad, so I’d better not ask them for any favors (like the chance to get a picture of myself sitting at the “table of power,” maybe wearing a funny hat). Nonetheless, it was a nice ego boost.

By the way, I very much doubt any genuine conservative ever used the phrase “self-righteous right-wingers.” That’s not how conservatives talk about each other, even when we’re mad. Moderate Republicans do use those terms, but we haven’t taken orders from them since they told us en masse back in 1979 and early 1980 that Ronald Reagan was unelectable. So, the “former West Wing official” can just go back to his job at the Gerald Ford Presidential Library, and we’ll go on wondering what Harriet Miers believes about original intent.

Steve Bainbridge also is blogging the “threat.” He doesn”t seem a bit cowed to me.