"Which side were you on in the Miers fight?"

So said conservative activist Manuel Miranda in the Washington Post. Having forced President Bush to back down, conservatives want more:

Now conservatives are issuing demands: an experienced, brash, conservative nominee not afraid to openly debate judicial philosophies; a get-tough approach to illegal immigration; a renewed push to make Bush's first-term tax cuts permanent; and a new round of tax cuts on top.

Even after five years of largely unchallenged power, conservatives have a seemingly endless capacity for grievance. Uber-activist Grover Norquist spoke of being "betrayed" by Bush. The fight over the Miers nomination has galvanized conservatives and demonstrated that the movement can never be satisfied, even with the most right-leaning president in our lifetime. Former Senator John Danforth, who has been critical of the right wing, is quoted in the Times, lamenting the way conservatives turned on Bush:

"There's all this talk about the Republican base and the conservative base of the Republican Party, and the conservative base of the president and how it's important to play to the base and please the base and fawn over the base," said former Senator John C. Danforth, the Missouri Republican who was Mr. Bush's ambassador to the United Nations.
"And look what it gets President Bush," Mr. Danforth continued. "It just gets him a kick in the rear."