Cynical Nation

A Republican friend of mine tried to cheer me up this morning after the Miers nomination put me into a bit of a funk. He's convinced that it's a brilliant move by Bush/Rove and that I shouldn't be alarmed.

The theory goes like this. The Democrats have already psyched themselves up to go to the mat in opposing the next nominee, no matter who it may be, to placate their base. Enter Ms. Miers, a charming, inoffensive, grandmotherly type. The Senate will filibuster her and look like cretins and bullies, and moderates and independents will recoil. After the Miers nomination fails, Bush will then appoint Luttig or Brown and a chastened Senate will confirm.

At first I didn't buy the sacrificial lamb theory. I thought it was giving Bush/Rove way too much credit, and that what we're seeing was plain old Texas cronyism, pure and simple. I didn't see how the Democrats could sustain a filibuster of Miers. The Republicans would only need to peel off 5 Democratic senators (or four plus that idiot from Vermont) to force a vote. Unless, of course, there was something about Miers that we didn't know....

But....

Now I'm dusting off my tin-foil hat. From the comments section of The Volokh Conspiracy, I see what may be the smoking gun.

Ms. Miers has evidently done some work in the past for something called "Exodus Ministries." Now is that this group? If so, it's a group dedicated to "minister[ing] the transforming power of the Lord Jesus Christ to those affected by homosexuality."

Perhaps this is the wrong group. But if not, I'm beginning to think my friend is right, and the White House may be following the advice I espoused here at the beginning of July.

If Miers really is connected to this group, she'll be easy filibuster bait, losing even some Republican votes. Moreover, Ted Kennedy will suffer a massive coronary, and Mitt Romney will replace him with a Republican while Teddy recovers, making the subsequent confirmation Janice Rogers Brown that much easier. (Okay, that Ted Kennedy remark wasn't nice. Sorry.)

Could it be true? Do I believe it? Do I even want to believe it? My gut tells me the nomination is more a product of ineptitude than evil genius, but... who knows?