The Anti-Sam Brownback Blog

As I mentioned yesterday, Brownback’s records request to the White House for Harriet Miers’ policy work while there was the last chance for the White House to get Brownback’s vote. The LA Times reports on what Bush decided:

Bush told reporters today that making public such information would dampen the freedom of staff members, in this and future administrations, to give the president unvarnished advice, and “that would make it impossible for me and other presidents to be able to make sound decisions.”

“They may ask for paperwork about the decision-making process, what her recommendations were, and that would breach very important confidentiality,” Bush said, adding: “It’s a red line I’m not willing to cross.

By not crossing that line Bush has guaranteed Brownback’s opposition of Miers. There is no way Brownback could vote for Miers now short of her explicitly stating disagreement with Roe v. Wade during the hearings. That will never happen.

So Brownback will vote against Miers. What does this mean for the nominee’s future? I have to say it doesn’t look like she will be confirmed. My WAG (Wild Ass Guess) would be that yesterday she had a 65% chance of confirmation and today she has a 35% chance. Perhaps not even that much. If Brownback succeeds in whipping the religious right to a fever pitch of opposition he could conceivably swing 6-10 GOP senators. Miers is likely kaput.

Who comes out the winner? Senator Sam Brownback. If only he can avoid denigrating our intelligence officers long enough to enjoy it…