The 7 dems could have simply voted for cloture, but they needed something to cover themselves in their own caucus.
We obviously see the harm our senators have done to our side, but there is another side. Leahy, Schumer, Biden, and several others got up and attacked the nominees as totally unacceptable. And now they are going to be confirmed.
I will note that, so far as I could tell (I didn't listen to it all), Hillary Clinton did not really bash the nominees today, she talked about the senate. And Senator Byrd never really attacked the nominees that much either, he talked about the rules.
The democrats who got up the last few days and talked about how it was so important to stop these nominees that 60 votes should be required, have had the rug cut out from under them as well.
BTW, outside of the activist circles, both Frist and Reid have been talking compromise for weeks, so in the land of the masses I think they both come out OK on this. Reid was looking for a way out, his own state didn't back the filibuster.
The MSM will say the democrats won, and we need to make sure that our side points out what WE won. I'm not saying we forget what we lost, but we shouldn't act as if getting most of the judges doesn't matter (We probably get the michigan judges as well except Saad, they were never an issue).
My guess is that next week Bush nominates Levin's relative. I know it sucks, but that would be the final straw to close the books on this whole rotton episode. There are a lot of appeals courts positions to fill, and Bush should be able to put sound constitutionalists up for all of them, especially if he can find some judges of moderate political leanings who happen to agree with strict constructionism.
I fear for the Supreme Court, but I've always assumed that, when push came to shove, the pro-choice republicans were never going to put a judge on the Supreme Court who would cause them to overturn Roe V. Wade.
We're only going to get a good Roe-V-Wade decision if God converts the hearts of people already on the bench. That is my prayer. We've had plenty of drifts to liberalism, but God can perform miracles.
I heard tonight on some station that the three Michigan nominees will get in....