I'm unhappy. very unhappy with this.

[PretzelWarrior]

filibuster cave in of the Dems.

[Goldeneye]

1. What did we lose, that we wouldn't have lost tommorow anyway?

We were never going to block all the judges. I'm satisfied.

[Democat]

2. We lost standing up for something and making the right wing look extreme

We can't claim that we stand for anything when everytime we get right to the point of standing up, our side caves in.

Strategically, going into the 2006 elections, there is little that would have made Republicans look more extreme than using the "Nuclear Option".

The Republicans will get everything they want and then they will turn around and use all of this against us as soon as a Democratic President is elected.

We are going to lose a lot in the long run.

The American people need to see that Democrats are strong enough to fight for something. Even when the American people disagree with Bush, they like that fact that he is willing to fight for something.

What are the Democrats willing to fight for?

They give in every time.

[Placebo]

3. I agree 100%

Sad day for the Democratic party.

[Goldeneye]

6. The moderates on both sides --- 7 dems, 7 pubs----

caved. Frist just said he wasn't happy about the deal. Reid is on CNN talking about how this is good for the senate and for America. Tell me who looks bad. We were going to lose the filibuster tomorrow, which it appears you wanted so the repubs would end up looking extreme. I'd prefer the filibuster remains in place, so no precedents are set regarding reducing the rights of the minority.

[PretzelWarrior]

8. we lost a rallying point. we lost an iconic grab for power

that I am SURE the people of America would have considered "a bridge too far"

as it is....the GOP gets what they wanted. As shrewd negotiatiors they went over the top with first offerings and will now pull back and get only the ones nominated they wanted nominated in the first place.

the GOP gets to look reasonable. (which they aren't) all they have to do is bring out the big leather belt for DEM whipping the next time the DEMS see fit to filibuster.

We are screwed over on this one. Thanks to Rebublican LITE's in our party leadership.

[leyton]

14. by that logic

We should be glad Bush was such a bad President for four years, because it gave us a rallying point in November 2004.

[leftofthedial]

12. the moral high ground

as usual

plus the judge that will allow enron and the bushturds to wriggle off the legal hook

though, on balance, I give us a slight strategic victory

[housewolf]

4. I disagree

We lost Owen, Pryor and Brown. We stood to lose them and all the others tomorrow anyway.

We retained the right to filibuster in the future if more extreme nominees come in.

There will be an attempt to consult with the admin to get more reaonable people nominated.

The country has won and the senate has won. Each party has lost a something.

The repubs have lost WAY more than we have - they've been expecting Frist to neuter the Dems and he can't deliver on that now. He's disappointed them and they are going to be WAY more angry than we are.

[brentspeak]

7. You're assuming the Republicans will actually honor this "deal"

The Democrats had to agree to NOT use the filibuster except under "extraordinary" circumstances? What's that supposed to mean? Like Owens and Brown are "ordinary" circumstances? And then the next time the Democrats DO try to use the filibuster, the Republicans will just say "this is not an extraordinary circumstance -- the deal is off".

[housewolf]

10. The best, most hopeful news out of all this

is a commitment by both sides to work together and try to get the admin to consult on future nominations, to get less extreme nominations more acceptable to both sides.

It just seems to me that the country has won and the institution of the senate has won. Both parties have lost something, but they have lost a lot more than we have.

[PretzelWarrior]

13. what have they lost? they get party line votes on 3 extreme judges

I'll repeat the threat DeLay and other GOP congressmen leveled. these judges better rule from the bench mindful that there WILL be consequences if they attempt to legislate sweet deals for corporations and religions from the bench.

the eyes of the militia men are gazing clearly at the unfolding story and will be prepared to step into action.

[housewolf]

15. Frist is really the big loser here

he promised the rw-ers that he'd get all their far-right judges through for them and that he's basically get us out of the way. He failed at that.

The biggest part of the deal is the agreement to consult with the admin to get more reasonable nominations. We can still filibuster horrible nominees, including supreme court nominees.

But Frist has failed to deliver on his promise to the rw-ers. They've been applying unbelievable pressure on him, and it wasn't all about getting votes for Owen, Brown and Pryor - it was about garnering more power and reducing our power as an opposing force. That failed today.

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

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[DaveinMD]

5. you and Bill Frist

Reid is happy and said there will still be filibustered.

[John_H]

9. PretzelWarrior, Frist, and soon everyone who will depend on

JUDGE Owens, Pryor, and Brown for a fair decision. Nobody doubts that Reid is happy there will be no fight on the floor, though.

[Rainscents]

16. I guess, I should at it like this (even tho I am very sad inside), at

least, they won't be able to ram through Social Security. If we lost Filibuster, they could had ram Social Security through with just 51 vote.