Litmus Test

When George Bush says there is no litmus test for Harriet Miers, he is probably telling the truth. He simply did not have to give her any test, because she had already qualified herself by telling him exactly what he wanted to know, a long time ago. No test was ever necessary. She already had her honorary BA (Bachelor of Anti-Abortion) degree conferred.

Harriet Miers has had conversations with Bush in which she has revealed what she believes. She has been to church with him, if not in fact, at the very least, in spirit. They have held hands at prayer breakfasts, small and large. Miers and Bush have had myriad private conversations covered by attorney-client privilege. They have talked, over the years, about many issues, including abortion.

When George Bush was pondering whom to name to the Supreme Court, he knew he had to name someone he could trust to vote his way on a variety of crucial issues to his Presidency and his legacy. The most important ones are: the Patriot Act, the war on terror, non-combatant detainees and their treatment, and abortion. He worried about naming any judge with a public record of any kind who would support him on these issues, knowing that the Democrats would, in all likelihood, fight to the bitter end of a filibuster. Harriet Miers was a perfect answer to all these concerns. You can't filibuster a blank page.

Bush knew, and has known for a long time, that she is on his side, without qualification. She believes, in her own words for crying out loud, that George Bush is the most brilliant man she has ever met. If that doesn't tell us all something, what would?

Apparently, in ways direct and indirect, a number of other people now know what George Bush knows about Harriet Miers. James Dobson, one of Bush's evangelical generals, has had conversations with Karl Rove and the "White House," presumably meaning others at the White House, and Dobson now feels certain enough to support her.

Will Senator Arlen Specter and Senator Leahy, chair and senior minority member on the Judiciary Committee respectively, now subpoena Dobson and Rove, and any others, including George Bush, to testify about what they know that the Committee and the American people don't know?

The entire thing stinks. The fix is in, but the American people don't know it, yet. Now is the time to stop this sham in its tracks.