It's a Coup, not a deal...

7 Republican moderates and to a lesser degree 7 Democratic Moderates have excecuted a non-military coup in the Senate.  These 14 (but especially the 7 Republicans) now have more power than the President when it comes to appointments and legislation.

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Now I think this is better then having Frist in charge, by a long shot.

So long as the partisan divide is so complete (45-55), these 14 can basically make any decision they want so long as their alliance holds.  The republicans can refuse to vote for cloture, allowing a filibuster and the democrats can vote for cloture, ending a filibuster.  And since 2 of the republicans are on the Judiciary committee, they can even stall nominees the 7 democrats can't accept.

In other words, Bush has to consult with at least the 7 (if not all 14) if he wants to be assured his judges get voted on at all.  Frist doesn't even factor into the equation.  As a result, I expect breaking the alliance will be the Far Rights goal from now till it's done.  

The Nuclear Option might have been a thunderous dud (which I would have preferred), but we don't know if Reid was short 2 votes or not and that's why I think of this as a Coup.  The 14 didn't want to take the risk and saw an opportunity to take over.  They have imposed their collective will on the rest of the Senate.

Well, it's better than Frist being in charge, so here's to the alliance, may it last till the Democrats can tip the balance back to our side.