I'll preface this by saying that this argument may have been made before. If so let me know and I'll delete - no hard feelings. Otherwise, thanks for reading.
This is a gift horse win-win for us. Reid has put us in the position of hopeful optimism, which is great. Now the Republicans will be the ones whispering about the filibuster. And they will be the ones to insist that their direct questions be answered. We can join them and make a good old bi-partisan precedent out of it. At least we have dumb luck.
If her answers please the committee republicans, she will drop herself right out of the mainstream and Senator Reid will act appalled and shocked and we can finally prove to these crazy's that Americans like the way the constitution has been interpreted. We will win the public opinion battle, and by the time Bush picks another nominee, he wont have two political dimes to rub together. His base will have already abandoned him. We'll get a moderate.
If her answers don't please the committee republicans, they will lead the filibuster against her, and Reid can take the high road and come to her defense. If the filibuster fails, then we have a judge who - while not overly qualified, isn't going to destroy the America we fight for - and a republican party in pieces. If it works, then it looks like a obstructionist act by an out-of-touch segment of the party, and with the majority split, the minority takes over.
If she refuses to answer, then we will certainly have a bipartisan rejection. Bush would be forced to withdraw her. Bush come back next time weaker and without control of the senate. And we've got the senate to finally stand up for itself again. The next nominee will have to answer questions, and we fight the fight because our philosophy is better. I'll put my money on Howard Dean and Harry Reid in that fight.
So, that's why I'm smiling.
