Miers brought down

Harriet Miers has withdrawn.

The decision marked the end of one of the most contentious Supreme Court nominations in recent years, following on controversies over the naming of Clarence Thomas and Robert Bork.

This shows to me that what's wrong with this country is not just with the left. After rejecting the litmus test of the left, the right now applies its own, but adds that the nominee must also be famous among Constitution wonks, a conservative and a dazzling author. Simple competence is no longer enough. The MSM of the right is as rigid and arrogant as the liberal MSM.

I really dislike this precedent. From here on out, it's not just the left-leaning special groups like MoveOn.Org, PFAW, etc, who have to be appeased. The commentariat of the right now gets extra votes on the matter as well. I hate these tactics. They're anti-democratic, vicious and unfair. The justification for them is similar to arguing that torturing prisoners is justified by the circumstances. Perhaps worst, I no longer trust the those who call themselves conservative.

Mona Charen, one of the organizers of the effort to force Miers' withdrawal has written:

In the immortal words of Ray Donovan, Ronald Reagan's Secretary of Labor who was acquitted of corruption charges in a court of law after a prolonged trial by media, "Where do I go to get my reputation back?"

Miers might be wondering the same thing today.

Update: Mark Steyn's comments on Hugh Hewitt's program make the point that the way Miers was forced to withdraw is an adoption of the left's view of the Supreme Court. Hopefully there'll be a transcript on Radio Blogger.