Is Miers Likely to Be A Foreshadowing of A Republican Rift to Come?

John Tabin thinks she just might:

Another problem with this pro-Miers argument: When Ruth Bader Ginsburg was confirmed 96-3, most Republican senators deferred to Bill Clinton on the principle that elections have consequences, and Clinton had won an election after pledging to nominate liberal judges. But George W. Bush pledged to nominate conservative judges. Don't Senators owe at least as much deference to Bush's constituents as they do to Bush himself?

If Harriet Miers joins the Court and turns out, as I fear she will, to be weak on a number of constitutional issues and consistently strong only on abortion, it will create new and worrisome political rifts on the Right. When judicial conservatives can no longer be sure that an anti-Roe judge will be fairly strong across the board, they will begin to part ways with their social conservative allies. Before supporting Miers, conservative senators should think carefully about whether loyalty to the President is worth the potentially devastating results for the conservative movement.

Again: Why split your base?