It's hard to think outside the box when it comes to the Harriet Miers nomination situation.
In this case, that's because, among other reasons, it is fun to stay in the box and watch the Rethugs and Wingnuts yelling at each other.
But to understand the true stakes of the situation we need to take into account the UNSPOKEN but salient factors at work. To hear the UNSPOKEN spoken, read on ...
It seems to me that there are three factors at work in the Miers situation that for reasons of let's say public decorum are not being mentioned. Here they are.
- Age. I think that the wingnuts are furious about the Miers nomination not only because her conservative bona fides aren't entirely in order but also because she's 60. Of course they can't say that. But I think that they were hoping for a Miguel Estrada (age 44) or a Priscilla Owen (age 51) ... one clue being that Red State's "confirm them" website prominently displays the ages of all the Wingnut's favorite judges.
- The "FMFUF." What is the FMFUF? It is the "'Fuck me? Fuck YOU! Factor." This acronym uses language that Harriet "you are the coolest governor ever!" Miers would NEVER use, but it nicely captures the wingnuts' greatest fear. Already the wingers have gone way out on a limb by grousing so loudly and publicly about Miers's bona fides. If she is confirmed with, say, only 5 Democrats, but 20 Rethug Evangelicals, voting against her, won't that be food for thought for her? Wouldn't you expect that she might rethink what if anything she "owes" to the Christian right? I expect she would! Not to be pollyannaish about it, but if she makes it through the confirmation process that's shaping up for her, she's not likely to be toeing anything but the Bush family line about abortion and such. Which brings us to aspect #3 ...
- Laura Bush. (Oops, I typed "Bushy" by mistake.) The first lady is well known to have been pro-choice for so long that ... well, she might still be. Every time Bush has run for office "word" of Mrs. Bush's "private" "leanings" has been spread around so as to buy off pro-choice women tempted to vote Rethug anyway. But maybe it's true that Bushy is a closet lib! And maybe it's true that she tabbed Miers! Not that that means that Miers wouldn't vote to overturn Roe. But if Miers has never thought that through before, and if she's really of Laura Bush's temperament on this matter, then all bets are off, especially given factor #2 above. Again, this third "Laura Bush" factor can't really be given voice by the Wingnuts ... but it's there!
Any other unspoken factors y'all can think of?