On The Mark -- Throwing Bush Out with the Bath Water

At first I was fooled, too. When I saw the Neos come out against Bush after he nominated "Harry" Miers to the Supreme Court I thought it would split the party. But after thinking it through a couple moves ahead on the chessboard, I realize that there's no splitting going on here. The Neos now realize that Bush and anyone associated with him, or who tries to run for office, or keep office, riding on his coattails will go the way of the soldiers who followed Custer. From the Neos' perspective, as it relates to Bush, you can stick a fork in it. He's done.

So, from the Neos' point-of-view, it makes sense to distance what they consider the "real" republican party from him -- to show the voting red reds that they're not backing a loser (and this word can have many meanings in this context). Plus, Bush is of no use to them anymore. The Neos are making their play for the future, they're being bold about it, and they're sacrificing Bush for the good of the party.

I would venture to guess that if things were going great for Bush (in Iraq, in the devastated regions of the U.S., no indictments or near indictments of party leaders, etc.) the Neos wouldn't have been so aggressive to dismiss Harry.

Let's face it, the Neos are powerful -- in money and words. For example, say whatever you want about Ann Coulter, but when she publishes a book it opens at or near the top of the list and stays there for a long time.

I hope the Dems don't sleep through this, too, and realize too late this strategic move by the Neos. They seem content at the moment to sit on the sidelines and watch the Republican party fall apart. But if that's the case, I'm afraid they're watching the wrong show.