"Deep Rift" On The Right?

From The Washington Post:

WASHINGTON -- The withdrawal Thursday of Harriet Miers' nomination to the Supreme Court was a triumph for conservative activists, but some of the lead players said the battle between erstwhile allies may have left scars for the remainder of President Bush's term.

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Those who stuck with Miers warned that the White House will long remember the activists who turned on the president's nominee and is not likely to be receptive to their demands.

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Without doubt, Miers' nomination stirred passions among conservatives that have lain dormant for much of the Bush presidency. Richard Viguerie, an architect of the conservative movement, said activists held their tongues for nearly five years as Bush expanded the federal role in education, imposed tariffs on imported steel, secured a prescription drug benefit for Medicare, and oversaw the rapid expansion of federal spending.

"But we did that because it was all about the courts, all about the courts, all about the courts," Viguerie said. "Then when he betrayed us on a Supreme Court nominee, that just woke us all up."

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Suddenly, there was a level of discord in Republican circles not seen since President George H.W. Bush was in office.

"We have always stood for our core issues more than politics," said Jan LaRue, chief counsel of the conservative Concerned Women for America, which had called for Miers' withdrawal on Wednesday. "Maybe some advisers in the White House have now been reminded of that."

(emphasis added)