Judicial Nuclear Options Revisited

Last April I went out on a limb and predicted that Senate Majority Leader Frist would not be able to muster enough votes to initiate the so called "Nuclear Option" in the Senate. Unfortunately, yesterday with a "compromise" struck in the Senate between "moderate" Senators from both political parties, the nuclear explosion we have all been waiting for never went off. What does this compromise entail for all the parties concerned? Is it a victory for Republicans? Moderates? Democrats? Let us examine each scenario:

Republican Victory? This definately is not a Republican victory by any stretch of the imagination. Yes, 3 nominess out of the 10 are going to be "allowed" an up or down vote in the Senate. However, the fate of the 7 other nominess that have been filibustered by the Democrats hangs in the balance. The Republicans are the majority party and should be using the Force, if you will of their majority status to push these nominees through the Judicial Committee with no problems. There should be an up or down vote on 100% of the nominees, instead we only have a guarantee of merely 30%. Democrats still retain their "terror option" to filibuster thus pushing this problem to another time and place of the minority party's choosing. This is an unacceptable loss of momentum by the majority party. Heads will fall for this egregious strategic error and the first to fall with be Bill Frist, Senate Majority Leader. If Frist doesn't fall, then the Republican Party may experience its first losses in the Senate not seen since 1992 due to a lack of conservative support for the Party and Republican moderate candidates alike.

Moderate Victory? This is not a moderate victory. The whole reason why the Republican Party is in this predicament is because of the moderate faction within the GOP. If they think their little stint at crashing the Republican Ship into an iceberg is a virtue, then I must ask what they are smoking? It must be good weed. Delusions of Granduer abound with McCain and company in their suicidal attempt at stealing the Crown from the nominal "conservative" agenda in the Senate. They have in one fell swoop completely alienated the conservative base and now are outcasts in the Party of Abraham Lincoln. McCain can forget about being the next President of the United States for the Republican Party. The moderate faction loves being the pariah in the party and the darlings of the leftwing Main Stream Media. McCain achieved a Pyrrhic Victory and will suffer for his lack of vision by the conservative base.

Democrat Victory? You better believe it! They should have been swept away by the huge Republican majority but instead they have pulled off nearly the impossible: They have retained the filibuster for the coming Supreme Court battle. This is a Strategic Victory for the Democrats that has given them the "moral" highground. At a place and time of their choosing, the perverbial terror attack of the filibuster may strike at any time. This victory is a sweet savor for the new minority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada. His star will rise in the Senate on the Democrat aisle and as the looming battle over the Supreme Court consolidates in the Senate, Harry Reid will confidentally and boldly proclaim the Democrat Jihad against ANY conservative nominee that the President dares to bring before the Senate. The MSM is on their side and even now is preparing the way for the Democrat filibuster at the expense of the Republican/Moderate majority in the Senate. The Democrats are smiling and feel very good. This very well may be the turning point in Democrat losses in the Senate and first time they have defeated the Republicans since 1992. They are the mice that roared and the elephants are in a stampede.