[NittanyLion]

When it comes to judicial nominees, the GOP does not control the Senate. The Gang of 14 demonstrated that they control the acceptable ideological range of nominees. And Bush had to operate within that constraint.

When push came to shove, it's my opinion the votes would be there for someone like JRB, Owens, et al.

[dirtboy]

When push came to shove, it's my opinion the votes would be there for someone like JRB, Owens, et al.

That's not what the gang of 14 indicated. Those 14 determine a filibuster override. And it includes 7 Dems. So you need a nominee that is acceptable to those 7 Dems in order to ensure that the rest of the Dems will not attempt a filibuster. And you also need to get Snowe and Collins on board as well.

[dirtboy]

Here's the position of the Gang of 14:

The Gang of 14 made an agreement whereby the seven Democrats would no longer vote along with their party on filibustering judicial nominees (except in "extreme circumstances," which some interpret to refer to nominees to the Supreme Court), and in turn the seven Republicans would break with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and the Republican leadership on voting for the "nuclear option."

Extreme circumstances - in other words, the seven Dems in the gang could bolt back to the party if they felt the nominee was too extreme.

And the Gang basically took power from Frist, Specter and Reid regarding nominations. They hold the cards now.