I think Markos over at DailyKos is absolutely 100% right in his analysis of the dynamics of this Alito nomination.
The wingers hated Harriet Miers. It wasn't that she was a walking question mark, but that they were being muzzled. They didn't want any more stealth candidates that masked the conservative agenda. After winning the presidency and expanding their leads in both the Senate and the House, they were convinced of an ascendant conservative dogma. It was time for a coming out party, and both Roberts and Miers denied them that celebration.
Rove knew that the myth of conservative ascendancy was just that -- a myth. An America that voted for Republicans out of fear of terrorists has little appetite for domestic conservative dogma. Bush's numbers didn't start coming down because of Iraq or Miers or Katrina. They came down during Bush's "Let's Destroy Social Security" road show. Fact is, conservatives are most effective when they mask their true intentions ("healthy forrest initiative", not the "let's cut down trees initiative").
But the Right refused to accept Bush's winks and nods on Miers. They didn't just want a conservative jurist. They wanted a showcase of conservatism they could shove down the throats of the likes of us liberals and the rest of America. They wanted one of those obnoxious touchdown dances.
Now we have a true-blood conservative on tap, and this now sets up the showdown of ideas that I think we've all craved. Thanks to Miers, ideology is now absolutely open to debate, and it's now time for America to see what conservatism really looks like. ... But this is the best possible scenario for Democrats as well. We now have a vehicle upon which to showcase the differences between us and Republicans, between liberalism and conservatism. This is a golden opportunity, and one wisely denied by Bush and Rove with the Robers and Miers nominations. This is a gift to Democrats. Katrina, massive budget deficits, and continued economic hardship have proven that Republicans can't govern. Iraq, Plame, and Osama Bin Laden have proven that Republicans can't run an effective foreign policy or protect our nation. Now Scalito, along with Bush's social security debacle, will prove to the American people that conservative ideology doesn't have their best interests at heart.
Let the debate begin.
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