A good idea

I probably agree with Dick Morris's proposal because I've been thinking the same thing myself:

The Republican leaders in the Senate do not have to make the false choice between endless toleration of Democratic filibusters that enfeeble their majority and the so-called 'nuclear option' — a ruling that filibusters of judicial nominations are unconstitutional — which will set off partisan wrangling for the balance of the Bush tenure. It is absurd to try to tell the American people why filibusters of judicial nominations violate the Constitution while those of presidential nonjudicial appointments and of regular legislation do not. The American people are going to see the denial of the right of unlimited debate as the equivalent of FDR's court-packing plan, which doomed the second term of his presidency to utter failure (he had a pretty good third term, winning the war). The better way to proceed is to make the filibuster radioactive politically by letting the Democrats talk themselves to death. Give them enough rope and they will hang themselves by their vocal cords. Frist just needs to end the 'virtual' filibuster and make the Democrats stage a real one, replete with quorum calls, 24/7 sessions and truly endless debate covered word for word by C-SPAN for all the nation to see — and ridicule.

In other words, the Republicans should stop running scared, and should take the Demos on at their own game. Ann Coulter, in her inimitable style, reduces the debate to one line:

In one sentence Republicans should state that the so-called "nuclear option" means: "Majority vote wins." (This is as opposed to the Democrats' mantra, which is "Our side always wins.")

I agree with that too. As I listed to the talking heads on NPR, with the Demos complaining about how they had to preserve their power, I kept thinking, "Wait. If the American people had wanted the Demos to have more power, they would have elected more of them." In the same regard, now that the Republicans have finally gone back to pre-January 2005 ethics rules, they ought to start going after the Demos who demanded the reinstatement of the "stricter" rules. That is, let DeLay defend himself (I'm assuming he can) and then ferret out those Democrats who should also be called before the ethics committee. I find it very bizarre that the Republicans are allowing the Dems to call the shots and set the agenda, rather than pursuing the agenda for which voters elected them -- and then letting the voters call the shots in 2006 and 2008, depending on whether they like how the Republicans carried out their mandate. The Republicans' conduct highlights the problem with a collegial body: Senators and Representatives, once inducted, are much more concerned with accommodating their colleagues than their constituents.