Today, I told the young gentleman on the phone that a lot of people following this issue were growing anxious for it to be brought to a head. I told him that I understood that some Senators were in favor of postponing the cloture vote until enough Dems could be peeled off to actually win cloture. These Senators fear that if you force a vote too early on cloture, then the Dems who vote against cloture will be "cemented in" to that position and then they can't be turned later.
I told Frist's office that the issue was no longer whether Estrada was a conservative, but the issue now involved the very legitimacy of the Bush Presidency. In other words, in the minds of the Leahys and clintons of the world, Bush was never really elected and thus had no right to make appointments except upon the express consent of the liberal Democrats. According to this faction, 41 Senators now have absolute veto power over all judgeship appointments.
This is such a pressing issue of Constitutional proportions that it must be viewed as a war between those who would uphold the Constitution versus those who refuse to recognize the duly elected President. The filibuster must be pushed to 24/7 and kept going until they break -- a week, a month, or three months if necessary.
Frist's aide told me that today's debate would show a new direction from the Republican side. I don't know what he meant, but I am waiting to find out.