"If it wasn't for McCain et al then it would have been a complete and humiliating defeat for Reid and the Dems."
Are you sure that Frist had the votes? Let's face it... if these RINOs were actually committed to advancing these nominees, they wouldn't be signing onto the agreement.
I really wonder if perhaps Reid did have the votes of 6 RINOs, but Ben Nelson, Robert Byrd, Mary Landrieu, and Mark Pryor were afraid of their own red state constituencies. And they forced the deal.
Yes. He said he did and I believe him.
Frist comes out of this one OK but this is only Round 1. The Pubbies scored on points and are ahead. The tragedy is Frist had a knockout punch and McCain and company wouldn't let him throw it. The Dems knew that Frist had the votes or they would have let the nuclear option go to a vote. The fact that they didn't proves it to me.
The good news is the deal did not give an inch on the nuclear option for the future. It is still their hanging over the Dems.