Oh man, would that be good

Don't vote against Miers. Don't filibuster her.

Abstain.

It would say volumes more than any business-as-usual response, and since her lightweight character is already well-known, it would send exactly the right message: If Bush can't be bothered to nominate a worthy candidate, the Dems refuse to grant her the respect she doesn't deserve.

One thing Hitt doesn't mention is that it might not even be a 55-0 vote; does every one of these Republicans want an albatross named Miers around his or her neck?

One thing that's important to realize about Miers is that this is a very easy story to communicate to the public, especially in the wake of Katrina. For a long time, Dems have been stuck with "nuanced," non-punchy storylines. Well, what communicates better to Joe Bag-o-donuts and Jane Paycheck than "undistinguished suckup gets a big promotion?" And since it meshes very well with the general trend of maladministration, it's in no way distracting from the larger anti-Republican narrative. We still need a positive narrative to go with it, but first we need to neutralize some of the Reps' rhetorical strengths. Painting the so-called Daddy party as a bunch of corrupt incompetents goes a long way in stopping culture war mantras in their tracks.