What the GOP elite missed

I came across this today and have to agree with the writing.

It’s clear that there was a major disconnect between the pundits and the conservative base. I can’t remember a time when the pundits were so united and the base was so resistant. (If any one has other examples, I would like to hear of them.)

One could make the caustic observation that the President understood his base better than the pundits, but more helpful is to note how fragile the nomination process is and how fragile the connect between pundit and rank and file might be.

The fragile nature of the nomination process in the Senate (where 40% can block a nomination) was mirrored in the conservative movement (where 34% blocked a nomination). Is the withdrawal of the Miers nomination a victory for the pundits on the order that the filibuster has been a victory for the Democrats? A nay-saying victory?

Amzaing how they had previously been railing against the will of the minority trumping the will of the majority. Another elite hypocrisy that I overlooked.

Another problem was the very idea of not giving a nominee a fair hearing. That went against common justice. Many conservative pundits argued that Miers should not even be given a hearing. And, of course, she was not. But the reasons for not getting a hearing were not immediately understandable to many conservatives. That she might do a poor job of presenting her case and embarrass herself and the President did not seem a compelling enough justification to deny Miers the opportunity for self-defense. If there were more substantial arguments, they were not clearly communicated.

The real question is not whether the President can get his base behind him. Apparently, it was there all the time. The real question is whether the pundits have damaged themselves to the extent that they cannot help muster the conservative unity and fervor needed to break filibusters against future nominees--not to mention defang attempts at borking.

Never again should the elite who were anti-Miers get away with bitching about a candidate being Bork...they have done so. Never again should the elite who were anti-Miers get away with bitching about Democrats as a minority blocking the will of the majority. That is precisely what the elite sought with regards to the Miers nomination. Never again should the elite who were anti-Miers bitch about a nominee being denied a "straight up or down vote" since in their infinite superior wisdom they effectively denied a nominee that vote.

The time for discussion on the Miers ordeal is passed. Your abject hypocrisies have been duly noted and WILL BE USED in the future.