President Bush has enough worries these days without a having to combat defections from within his own ranks over the nomination of Harriet Miers. But as David D. Kirkpatrick reports for The New York Times, a growing number of Republican Senators are unhappy with the White House's selection.

The drumbeat of doubt from Republican senators over the Supreme Court nomination of Harriet E. Miers grew louder Tuesday as several lawmakers, including a pivotal conservative on the Judiciary Committee, joined those expressing concerns about her selection.

Emerging from a weekly luncheon of Republican senators in which they discussed the nomination, several lawmakers suggested that as Ms. Miers continued her visits on Capitol Hill, she was not winning over Republican lawmakers.

"I am uneasy about where we are," said Senator Jeff Sessions, an Alabama Republican on the Judiciary Committee who had so far expressed only support for the president's choice. "Some conservative people are concerned. That is pretty obvious."

[...]

Coming less than two weeks before confirmation hearings, the public questioning by Republican senators may be an ominous sign. Of the 10 Republicans on the 18-member Judiciary Committee, Mr. Sessions joins two others who have publicly raised concerns: Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas has questioned her legal views on abortion rights, and the committee chairman, Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, has said Ms. Miers could benefit from a "crash course in constitutional law."

Several Republican aides, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said two other Republican committee members, Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, had privately raised questions about her judicial philosophy. Both declined to comment on their views of her.

The spin among Senate Republicans seems to be going in the wrong direction. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a member of the Judiciary Committee, said, "To support the withdrawal would be a rebuke of the president, not her." This sets up the situation that if Repubulicans eventually do back withdrawal, it might be viewed as an act of rebellion rather than an indication of Miers' unfitness to serve on the Court.

Whatever the case may be, it's not clear that President Bush still has the clout to bully consevatives in his party. And if one or more conservatives on the Judiciary Committee do indeed defect, Miers will have a very tough time reaching the Supreme Court.

[Update 9:38 AM Pacific]: According to the AP's Jesse J. Holland, conservative Senator David Vitter (R-LA), echoes Sessions, Brownback and others.

The White House should provide written evidence that Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers has a conservative judicial philosophy instead of asking senators to rely her statements or the word of her friends, conservative Sen. David Vitter, R-La., said Wednesday.

"What I am suggesting is that I'd love to see more written material that predates the nomination," said Vitter after an early morning meeting with Miers, the White House counsel.

When asked how important getting that material was to his vote, he said "It's extremely important. I don't know how to put it in a numbers term, but it's extremely important."