Who is George Bush trying to please?

The president's announcement that he is nominating Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court has not been received well by both the left and the right.

After I wrote the first article, I shamelessly promoted it in the comments section at Eschaton - one of the best known "Liberal blogs" on the internet. As a result, my blog has received more hits than ever in its short history. So hello and welcome to all those from Eschaton who have visited (and be sure to check my FAQ).

The "Vibe" from Eschaton's comments thread was, I suppose, predictable. Much of what I wrote was expressed by all and sundry. Nevertheless, I realised that my own cultural shortcomings may have come into play (I am, after all, sitting at my desk in Australia) when some commented about her Jewishness. "How do they know she's Jewish?" thinks I, "Ah, of course, Miers sounds like a Jewish surname (and probably is)".

But whatever her background was, it appears to be very clear that Miers is an Evangelical Christian and has been for some time. If you check the Wikipedia article on the subject, you'll discover that, before moving to Washington, Miers attended Valley View Christian Church in Dallas for ten years. It is an independent, evangelical church that appears to exist quite happily within the Conservative Christian mainstream.

This means that she would naturally follow pro-life thinking, especially when you consider Roe vs Wade. The rumours that linked her to Exodus International, an "ex-gay" Christian group, are unfounded. It was simply confusion because she used to be on the board at Exodus Ministries - a Christian charity that tries to help former convicts. Having said this, however, I am certain that if she is an Evangelical Christian (like me) then she would probably have some definite views on homosexuality as well.

So of course, those liberally minded are not impressed. What is amusing, however, is the reaction of the conservatives.

I am not a member of Free Republic, nor am I likely to ever be considering my preference for Social market economics. Nevertheless I have checked some of the comments going on about the current nomination, and it appears that Conservative Republicans are not that impressed either. They had their own people in mind for the job to replace Sandra Day-O'Connor, and they have not exactly been happy with the way Bush appeared less than presidential during the debacle in New Orleans.

These rumblings in the Right Wing Blogosphere™ have shown that Bush's choice appears even more strange. Just who is he trying to please? (that is, if he actually has a plan behind this)

The only group that would be happy would be Christian Conservatives. They would rejoice that someone like Miers would be nominated for the following reasons:

1. She holds to a conservative form of Christian faith which would guide her in her decision-making.
2. She has been a close supporter of George W. Bush for over ten years, which would make her more trustworthy than other potential conservative judges (who just might turn around and become "activists")
3. She is a woman, thus making her nomination appear progressive and giving them the opportunity to deride progressive critics for being hypocritical.
   

I am therefore predicting a major post from my best friend Al Mohler about this soon. I don't know what Focus on the Family are going to do but I'm sure James Dobson is going to come out soon and declare that God will use this nomination and we need to fight to make sure it gets there and so forth and so on and yadda yadda yadda. (note: he has and appears happy)

So George is trying to make Evangelical Christians happy. Well, I'm an evangelical who's not, but I don't matter anyway because I live in Austria (or is that Australia?). It's a fair bet that this decision will be vindicated by the fanatical support that he can get from Churches who have, over the years, abandoned true Evangelical theology for errors like Kingdom Now Theology, the Latter Rain Movement and Christian Reconstructionism, all of which promote the unbiblical idea that Christians should fight for a "heaven-on-earth" and that those who oppose them are tools of satan. Not exactly the sort of support you'd get from regular Republicans, but something that could potentially gain around 10-15% of the population.

I'll finish off here by making another prediction - this time about Evangelicals and Republicans. I think this nomination will really get some moderate and conservative Republicans riled. There are many within the GOP who have willingly courted the Christian vote, but with the situation getting as bad as it is now, there will be serious breaks of rank within the GOP over this one. I would think that, even if Bush doesn't retract Miers' nomination, support for her appointment will become exceptionally difficult. And without a Hammer to keep discipline, the GOP is set for a very public internal brawl.


From the Department of Wha's Happnin?

© 2005 Neil McKenzie Cameron, http://one-salient-oversight.blogspot.com/





This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.