The curtain has been pulled back. It doesn't matter who we vote for or who we elect. The Republicans must retain their prerogative to obstruct policy on ideological grounds regardless of the will of the electorate or the majority. The republicans are a rear guard battling the obsolescence of their policies and their party, fighting to hold back the forces of Democracy and time.
The Senate in its current form is nearing obsolescence as well, because these are times when a functional Senate is needed. Our Senate appears to be operating in a world where, for the Senators, it's all about being the Senate and being the Senators, and not about doing the peoples' business. Unfortunately, the business of governing our nation has been sorely neglected in recent times, and we can ill afford a Senate obsessed with the pomp and circumstance of their position and neglectful of their intended purpose.
Decorum among dear friends and colleagues overshadows ideological disagreements when all is said and done. They all have to work together after all. And their hand isn't going to be forced by unruly mobs of disgruntled voters, nor by less senior upstarts who don't respect the customs and culture of that august body.
The result of Senator Reid's deal is that, despite the voters and the most recent election, we effectively continue to have a Republican Senate. And they will continue to obstruct our elected President's (and the Peoples') agenda as much as possible until we remove enough of them (and the Democrats who enable them) from office and replace them with more representative choices.
Clearing out the old guard is necessary to enable our Government to fulfill its intended purpose again. There are key Democratic Senators who have abetted the obstruction at every step and their removal is as vital as that of Republicans. Denial of this is just rationalization.