About 24 hours later, most of the conservative movement is still unconvinced, to put it mildly, about the merits of Harriet Miers’ nomination to the Supreme Court. With this in mind, there are a lot of right-wing activists out there who aren’t happy with the White House and who might appreciate a like-minded senator to come out publicly and express the same concerns they have.
So, who’s going to be? A few contenders have already become clear.
While Republicans like Mr. Cornyn were polite in their praise, the most conservative Republican senators were mostly mum. One ardent opponent of abortion, Senator Sam Brownback, Republican of Kansas, issued no statement. Another, Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, said simply that he wanted to know more about Ms. Miers. Senator John Thune of South Dakota said he would “reserve judgment.”
Among the possibilities, there some who may be driven by personal ambition (Thune); some who are genuinely right-wing (Coburn); and some who are both (Brownback, Santorum).
My hunch is Brownback is the most likely critic — he said last week he would vote against a nominee who was not “solid and known” on the hot-button issues — and his silence yesterday reemphasized those concerns.
There are, however, other possibilities. As Matthew Yglesias noted, Santorum is trailing badly in Pennsylvania and is “in need of a long ball.” Taking a stand against Miers would be a bold move, rally the base, and would probably boost Santorum’s fundraising.
Whoever travels down this path is taking a serious risk — Karl Rove doesn’t take kindly to infidelity to the Bush cause — but would no-doubt earn the praise and gratitude of a group of angry activists who felt crestfallen yesterday. It has to be tempting.