When the opposition comes, it's the work of the devil

That's what an evangelical Christian woman said in an NPR feature about the nomination of Harriet Miers to the U.S. Supreme Court. A man said he would have preferred someone with judicial experience, but if he had to choose between an evangelical Christian with no experience and an experienced secular jurist, he would prefer the evangelical Christian.

I am not in a position to judge whether Harriet Miers intends to use her religious beliefs to change law; the point is that some of the people interviewed for the feature believe strongly that it is Miers' duty to do so. There are relatively few soldiers in the culture war: Most Americans are doing what they do best--not paying attention. But for those involved, one of the hallmarks of the battle is that both camps believe they are losing it. (As long as we keep hearing how "ultra-liberal" CNN is, we can measure how different our perceptions are.) As a liberal, for example, I find it totally amazing that the Christian right thinks it has no power in this country.

If, as the woman quoted says, opposition to the Miers nomination is the work of the devil, then it is indeed true that the devil is full of trickery, since much of the opposition is coming from conservatives.