When the Stakes are Gold

In a wonderful piece of synchronicity, the following was my mailbox today:

"In an archery contest, when the stakes are earthenware tiles a contestant shoots with skill. When the stakes are belt buckles he becomes hesitant, and if the stakes are pure gold he becomes nervous and confused. There is no difference as to his skill but, because here is something he prizes, he allows outward considerations to weigh on his mind. All those who consider external things important are stupid within."

That's from the Zen version of the Page a Day calendar. Yes, Bush didn't bother to surprise us but made a straight play to his base, thumbed his nose at mainstream America and pretty much ensured a Constitutional crisis later this year. The outward considerations weighing on Bush's mind: The loss of his base to his decision to nominate Harriett Meirs and the loss of the political center to just about every major decision he's made since 9/11. To my Democratic allies in the Senate, all I have to say is if the judge is as much of a Wingnut as he seems, filibuster. If they exercise the "nuclear option," shut down the Senate.

Indications are that Scalito is a complete wingnut, starting with the concept of women as chattel as indicated by his vote in the Pennsylvania abortion law case. He voted to uphold a law requiring women to get approval of their husbands before having an abortion. In his arguments, he noted that the lawyers opposing the law didn't give statistics about how many women this would help. In my humble opinion, one is all that should have been required. Of course, there are also cases where I'd agree with Scalito and even indications that he may not be a Christian wingnut but just a wingnut. He upheld the right of a college newspaper to make money off of beer ads, citing a first amendment justification for it. To me, the matter is clear: Beer is legal, the paper is read by those over 21; therefore, advertisements for beer in the paper have their place. But then, I'm not a judge, nor a justice of the Supreme Court.

The Wingnuts are crowing. Bush is going to be strutting and preening again, smirking and winking, secure that his Wingnut base is once again behind him. Pat Robertson is calling this a "Grand Slam." I haven't heard from Colorado's Wingnut in Chief, James Dobson, but I'm sure he's willing to put down his family paddle and jump for joy over this. As a strategic move, I'd give the Shrub the long ball but it hasn't cleared the fence. This country is moderate, something our Democratic party strategists should remember while forming their response to this. If we can get enough Moderates to start writing their Senators, we can kill this abomination without exercising the filibuster or opening ourselves to nuclear warfare. America doesn't consist of Wingnuts. Keep the pressure on the Shrub - there's enough going on to keep him steppin' and fetchin' while trying to press his Wingnut through the Senate - and even if we lose on Scalito, we could still win.

Notable on the day the Shrub nominated Scalito to the bench: Seven American soldiers died in Iraq, making October the fourth most deadly month since the war began. Last legs indeed, Mr. Cheney. Rosa Parks was honored for her stand (sit, actually) on civil rights even as a man determined to undermine those rights was nominated for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. The White House clamped the lid on talk of Libbey, Rove and the other unindicted co-conspirators in l'affaire de Valerie (I hate "Plamegate"). McClellan was called an "artful dodger" by the White House Press Corps.

Trick or treat.