Tick, tock, tick, tock... and more

You didn't think we were going to go a week without a piece about the "nuclear option," did you? As proposed by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, the "nuclear option" is - join us, won't you? - a dangerous plan to eliminate debate within the Senate in order to clear the path for President Bush's most far right judicial nominees. For "far right," feel free to substitute "ultra-conservative," "out of touch," "out of the mainstream," or any other qualifier that translates to "scary as hell!"Senator Frist and his cronies have ranted on and on about how a simple majority vote ought to be enough to secure a lifetime appointment for some of President Bush's most controversial and divisive nominees. They're beside themselves over the notion that they might be forced to work with members of the other party, to build consensus, to garner broad support in order to confirm the BEST nominees possible. Did I mention it's for a lifetime appointment?You want to talk about majorities and consensus? Let's! Because a wide majority of Americans reject the "nuclear option." A recent poll found that 66% of Americans oppose what the Senate Republican leadership is trying to do. We're getting the idea that they're more concerned about what's best for their party right now, than they are about what's best for the Senate - or the American people - in the long term. But it's interesting to speculate if at any point they're planning to concern themselves with what the people who put them into office want. We have no doubt that if these yahoos refuse to take their constituents seriously, by the time the next election rolls around, there'll be plenty of people ready and willing to take their place. Oh, we can't wait...

But it won't come soon enough as far as I'm concerned.