Can the Conservative Rebellion End Well?

At the Weekly Standard, William Kristol writes "What Is To Be Done?" and joins those calling for Miers to withdraw:

President Bush's nomination of Harriet Miers was an out-of-the-blue act of loyalty to a longtime staffer. Is it too much to hope that she might reciprocate by withdrawing, thereby sparing her boss the chance of lasting damage to his legacy that her appointment to the Supreme Court may well represent?

Kristol argues that if Miers does not prove to be impressive in her confirmation hearings, conservative senators can do the conservative cause, the Republican party, and the Bush administration a favor by voting against confirming Miers.

This counterintuitive argument puzzled me at first. All week I have been listening and reading the rage of conservatives I admire. My reaction was different than Kristol's. I thought I was witnessing the meltdown of the conservative movement. I was beginning to believe that conservatives' maniacal rage and refusal to accept President Bush's nomination of Miers would result in making President Bush a lame duck and returning the government to the liberals.

In support of his argument Kristol claims the conservative congressional opposition to the 1990 budget deal was a key to Republican success in 1994 and conservative opposition to Nixon's policy of détente was crucial to laying the groundwork for Ronald Reagan's success in 1980.

Kristol is a very smart man, and I agree with his commentary more often than not. This time he has not convinced me. I still fear that this conservative rebellion will not have a good ending. Absent a Miers withdrawal, there is no stopping the conservative rebellion, so I hope Kristol is right.

UPDATE: At In The Bullpen, Debbie also disagree's but is willing to give the President the benefit of the doubt.

Comments

[The Owner's Manual]

Bush's lame-duckedness is a feature of the Constitution, not politics. And a really good way to return govt to liberals is to appoint inexperienced cronies to positions of importance to conservatives. Are conservatives doing Bush damage or is it self-inflicted?