[Cboldt]

My guess: While not planned or intended by Bush or others in the GOP, this sets the stage to apply more pressure for a rule change. Bush asked for a rule change, Hatch said the rule was not working, etc.

How the Senate goes about this is anybody's guess, and maybe the GOP Senators will not provide any effective action or remedy. Given the amount of attention this story is getting today, we may not even hear any good-sounding rhetoric.

A solution advocated by quite a few on FR is for the people to elect a GOP supermajority to the Senate. Obviously, that would circumvent the procedural hurdle.

BTW, I'm all for having a conservative supermajority in Congress, IF they act on their word. I'd like to see the ideals espoused on the front page of FR put into effect, yessir, I truly would.

[livius]

A solution advocated by quite a few on FR is for the people to elect a GOP supermajority to the Senate.

I'm all for this, but nobody ever votes for losers, and the Republicans are looking more and more like losers and weaklings.

Besides, in the year+ before a supermajority would even be possible, the Dems could do incalculable damage and certainly will defeat all of Bush's other judicial picks.

They've got to do something NOW.