The nuclear option has wiped the smirk off Michael Steele and Joe Scar's faces today

[BlueStreak]

7. Why is such an arcane technical point so important to the Republicans?

Because stacking the courts has been one of their most important strategies since Reagan. They can see the demographics of the country changing such that it is more difficult ever to elect another GOP President. Without a president naming new uber-conservatives to lifetime appointments, their only option is to try to keep the Democratic President from seating ANY new judges.

The Dems have been spineless, completely AWOL on this issue for 33 years, and we have paid a huge price for that. We have lost serious ground on the environment, women's rights, civil rights, election laws, and many other things.

And even when Obama has been able to seat people, the upside-down rules of the Senate effectively bullied him into naming "center-right" judges. Now that the genie is out of the bottle, let's see so real progressives join the bench. Nice young ones.