Never Enough Senatorial BSing Department

So now practically every major political and news blog has had a chance to dissect the compromise that occurred between fourteen Senators that assured that Frist couldn't "pull the trigger" on the "nuclear option". (Or is that "nucular"?) As they say, opinions are like assholes--everyone's got one. But as I like to say, politicians are often like cheap hot dogs--all lips and assholes.

Pardon the metaphors. Ahem.

So far I've preferred to "meta," or what we old-timey 'Net folks call "lurk," and digest the fallout from many different angles. The reactions have been quite interesting. Some Republicans and some Democrats felt betrayed, and while I understand the Democrats not wanting to give away any more judges, I understand the Republican stance as well. They know that it's only a matter of time before their game collapses, and the inevitable tide of politics shall usher forth a new progressive rennaissance. And, they also know that this may happen very soon, so therefore they feel compelled to rig the system the only way they know, by replacing as many judges as possible in order to ensure no further erosion of their ideal social attitudes.

Yes, I said "social attitudes." You know, "values"--as in, "I bought it on clearance!"

Of course, from the liberal point of view, the right wing ideal social attitude would result in an impoverished, ignorant, bigoted, and prideful society grounded in false piety. It's not as if they have an equally pleasant opinion of how we should run things. Just because we've already established that well-educated, tolerant societies tend to fare well for most of their citizens, doesn't mean that we have to all become hippies and nerds, even if that's what they think. But we were already losing our scientific relevance in the world, even before our reaction to the WTO attacks made us lose our diplomatic credibility, and our economy has suffered. Imagine if we didn't let anti-science religious extremists take over the GOP and the Republican Party! McCain, hell, I wouldn't mind Bob Dole half as much, for even though he clearly chose party loyalty over political courage, he is not interested in being pushed around by James Dobson.

Dobson, however, is right about one thing: While the compromise on the filibuster has caused strain in the Republican Party, that's only because the Party was already strained. Democrats may not yet be in perfect unison but given that Reid had already offered a compromise, this does come off perceptually as a Democratic win. Right now, that's what is most important.

But if I read one more article saying that the term "nuclear option" is a term used and invented by Democrats, I will scream. Swear.