Don't forget why and how the Senate was created by the founders.
It was meant to be as apolitical as possible and deliberative.
In the beginning,members were appointed, and not elected for this reason. They did not want reelection politics involved in decision making.
The senate still clings to that ideal as they should, IMO.
Although some members are certainly in the spineless category, the bulk of them are often misinterpreted by partisans on both sides.
I try to take it with a grain of understanding, but these days it is not easy to do that because of the huge responsibilities that they are saddled with.
But, it does not surprise me at all for them to resist partisan interference, and I expect them to do so in the future.
What you are stating is true, BUT the Founders never intended that the Courts legislate from the bench, especially when the laws they generate are not in keeping with American history, tradition, or historic interpretation of the Constitution.
This Country is approaching a major crisis of moral identity, and our very survival in the form in which we have historically existed is dependent upon the compositon of the Courts.
Specter is a loose cannon, a far left-wing liberal with a track record of lying to his constituency and to others in public life.
His position in the Chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee will allow him to do inestimable harm to the President and to the nation. And he will fully avail himself of that opportunity. Even in the very act of attempting to explain away his indefensible comments, he equivocated.
This is not a purely partisan issue, its a survival issue. And Specter is our enemy.