Well, for those who hated the filibuster compromise, you can prepare to possibly say "I told you so" to those who thought that maybe, even if the Bush administration didn't give a flying Cheneyism about what Reid and the Dems thought about their nominees, that they would listen to John Warner and consider the Senate on both sides of the aisle for the next round of appointments.
The Washington Post just posted an article about the White House is planning a new round of nominees, and they are using Owen and Brown as under the extraordinary circumstances standard.
From the
article:
No names have been publicly floated, but officials familiar with the process said they believe the nominees will be consistent with Bush's previous choices, some of whom have stirred considerable controversy among Democrats. The Bush team indicated that it plans no changes in its selection process in the wake of the Senate deal. Senate Democrats said they have not been consulted on any new nominations.
Republicans have said the agreement means that no future nominees could be filibustered for being as conservative as the three covered by the deal. It "sets the definition of extraordinary circumstances that the president can meet quite easily," Gray said. Democrats have disputed that interpretation.
The thing is, when it comes down to it, what really upsets me is not that people like C. Boyden Gray would wish to interpret the compromise as much in their favor as possible, but rather that the administration is so itching for another fight. I don't think it implies at all that Republicans involved in the compromise wouldn't find Bush ignoring the terms and trying to further push his will equally repugnant. It really insults them as well as Democrats. But why does he have to assert his authority so quickly, before the terms of the deal have even been fulfilled?
Maybe it would be better if Renquist DID step aside, because then we wouldn't have to deal with this anymore.