Harry Reid is singing the praises of Miers to the point of embarrassing

[skylarmae]

on CSpan 2 right now. Each day that goes by I hope and pray for a new minority leader in the Senate...

[Mass]

1. I agree - I am listening and this is making mad.

Why is he doing that for?

Attacking the Radical Right Wing is not enough... This women was nominated because of her business links and this should have been said.

[SCDem]

2. Don't stress about it

He's doing that so that the MSM and Republicans can't start saying that the meanie Dems were so horrible on Miers that she had to withdrawl and even worse she was a "qualified" woman - which of course there are barely any of in America.

It's all strategy. And I think it is working to our advantage by the way.

[Mist]

6. I agree--Reid has the unenviable job of keeping the Dems in the game

when the Repubs have a huge advantage. Playing "defensive politics" ain't easy.

[John Q. Citizen]

14. Yep, Reid has handled this nomination brilliantly. We got rid

of Miers and we haven't had to lift a finger.

Reid deserves a lot of credit, he's played this very smart from the get go.

We are in a much better position now than before this nomination was made, and with a little luck and a little Fitz, we may be in an even stronger position soon.

[RethugAssKicker]

16. How are we in a better position???

Bush will nominate a fire breathing regressive. THis will bring his base back to him.

We will fillibuster, and they will defeat the fillibuster.

The rethugs will unite stronger than ever and will help Bush during the indictments..

We are fucked!

[John Q. Citizen]

17. They can't defeat a filibuster without 60 votes.

Do you think they got 'em?

Or were you for Miers because the religious right opposed her?

I think we are in a much stronger position.

Hopefully bush will opt for a recess appointment to get around a filibuster, and if 06 shapes up to be a sea change election, we can then stop a lifetime appointment of a wingnut.

[BeyondGeography]

3. He's also blistering the right wing

There's a method to his madness on this one. If Bush puts an ideologue out there to replace Miers, Reid will be leading the way on a filibuster.

[eyesroll]

4. I'm not watching, but it wouldn't surprise me if Reid is jabbing

the Bushies with a stick here. Rubbing it in.

Reid's smart. He knows what he's doing. He's a lot more conservative than many of his peers, but he knows what he's doing.

[ed murrow]

7. Harry Reid genius

I think Harry Reid looks like a genius now...reverse psychology is a brilliant move to counter the Christian Right

[Mike03]

15. Exactly

It may be painful to watch, but he's brilliant.

[Canuckistanian]

5. So he was serious, then?

This was not all a clever plot to make Shrub look bad, as some have suggested?

He really LIKES a legally illiterate, partisan crony of *ush?

Yikes.

[Douglas Carpenter]

8. I suspect he is just being politically clever

Regardless how ridiculous it might sound and how ridiculous the Meir's nomination was; it was the extreme right that torpedoed her nomination--not the Democrats.

Here is a good article from the kos "Wingnuts Win, Miers Withdraws":

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/10/27/9955/1988

[MaineDem]

9. Bingo

This is a good move for Reid. It wasn't the Dems who killed this nomination - at least not outwardly.

They're setting Bush up for when he nominates a truly scary conservative.

I wouldn't worry about what Reid is saying right now.

[MrBenchley]

12. What this shows is that the extremists control the GOP

and Harry is pointing that out...

Remember, Harriet's real "sin," according to the right, was that she might actually BE the moderate that Roberts was pretending to be.

The majority of Americans support things like equal pay for equal work, affirmative action, the NAACP, etc...

[Tom Rinaldo]

19. Exactly. Republicans killed this one. Next time it's our turn

This is how this all looks to the middle of the spectrum. The Democrats allowed an expereinced qualified Conservative (Roberts) to replace another experienced Conservative (Renquist). Then we reserved judgement, expressing valid concerns but keeping an open mind, toward Meirs. So we are not obstructionists, that is the political point made. Which is useful because we will probably now need to shift into full obstructionist gear when Bush nominates a replacement that will overtly please his base.

[MrBenchley]

10. Good for Harry...

Every word is a knife into the GOP...

[gratuitous]

11. Be magnanimous in victory

I'm not watching, but there could be two dynamics here: This battle is over, and looking reasonable keeps him from looking like an ultra-partisan hack. Image is important; the other dynamic could be St. Paul's encomium to be charitable to your enemies, for by doing so, you heap burning coals on their heads.

It could be a combination of the two, considering Reid's track record.

[madrchsod]

13. it`s a defensive maneuver....

"i really liked her and i am sorry she resigned...."
"hey! it`s not my fault, i really liked her"
the dems never got the chance to vote for her because our enemy on the far right did the job for us...

[BeFree]

18. Fascinating

The right-wingers crushed their own nominee? I've never seen anything like that. And the Dem's just sat back and watched as they ate their own? And the Dem's have not a spot of blood on their hands?

Things have been bizarre for some time now, but this is simply amazing.

[kentuck]

20. Do not judge so quickly....

There could be political coverage for the Party when the next nominee comes up. Democrats can argue that it was not them that shot down Harriet Miers. They wasted little ammunition on that battle. And that ammunition will probably be needed for the next nominee. The big battle is ahead. This was a mere skirmish.