Itching for a fight

By Steve Feinstein
The American Thinker

The biggest danger for the Republicans is this: By shying away now from the filibuster showdown, they are hoping against hope that their non-confrontational gesture will be repaid in kind when the Democrats reclaim the Senate majority in the inevitable near future. This is political folly. The current partisan atmosphere—fueled by an almost hysterical, fanatical Bush-hatred by the Left—ensures that no such gentlemanly gestures will ever be repaid. Quite the contrary: Many believe that the Democrats will invoke their own “nuclear option” the split-second they’re back in the Senate majority and close off any possibility of Republican filibusters.

The chance to win the filibuster fight outright while the Republicans are in the majority or at least sway public opinion against unfair minority filibusters by exposing the Democrats as obstructionist and partisan was a valuable opportunity that goes wasted by the Miers pick. The Republicans have fouled this one off, and unfortunately they may not get another at-bat during Bush’s tenure. That would be a shame.