We won the debate tonight, folks.

[Clarkie1]

Reid said the agreement sent President Bush, Vice President Cheney and what he called the "radical arm of the Republican base" the "undeniable" message that "abuse of power will not be tolerated."

Frist was less enthusiastic, saying the agreement "falls short" of the principle that all judicial nominees should receive a vote on the Senate floor.

<snip>

In announcing the deal, Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona singled out a senator from each party for their "vital" roles in the negotiations: Republican John Warner of Virginia and Democrat Robert Byrd of West Virginia.

Warner said he was led to compromise because of one unanswered question that guided him through the process: "WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO THIS SENATE IF THE NUCLEAR OPTION WERE DONE?"

"No one was able to answer that to my satisfaction," he said.

Byrd, the chamber's most senior lawmaker, applauded the group of 14.

"We have lifted ourselves above politics, and we have signed this document in the interests of the United States Senate, in the interest of freedom of speech, freedom of debate and freedom to dissent in the United States Senate," Byrd said.

"Thank God for this moment and for these colleagues of mine."

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/05/23/filibuster.fight...

For those 7 thoughtful Republican collegues of Byrd, Warner's question remains both unanswered and decisive...we won this debate, folks.

[Rowdyboy]

1. We certainly did, though many here seem determined to deny it....

How horrible, we actually beat the bastards.

[elperromagico]

2. Rove, Frist, and the whole rotten lot wanted the nuclear option

because it would likely lead the Democrats to shut down the Senate. Then they could go into '06 calling the Dems obstructionists who were preventing the Senate from carrying out the will of the people.

We may find that laughable but it could have worked with voters.

At the least, we've denied them a campaign issue... for now. This issue is far from settled; the compromise is merely a temporary patch.

[rpannier]

3. I have to say I'm very suspicious of this deal

It operates under the theory that we can trust the pukes -- Which is what ALWAYS screws us in the end. Personally, I would have preferred to call them on this and let the chips fall. This sort of "moderate maneuvering" is what got us into Iraq.
I trust NONE of the Democratic Senators who helped forge this "deal" as far as I can thrown them (That inclused Robert "Grand Dragon of the KKK" Byrd).

[The_Casual_Observer]

4. "We won the debate tonight, folks."

Tell it to the judge.

[FrenchieCat]

5. We may have won the debate (not that I think so), But

Just like Kerry won the debates and lost the elections....I kinda have this premonition that the table will be turned on us....again.

What I don't agree about is gauging the reactions of the Republicans to conclude that "we won"! They already set the agenda.....do they have to be the ones we look toward when we want to know if we've won? Hope not. But that's what I see everywhere here today...."look what the Republicans are saying, we must have won".

I'm much more skeptical.

They may have lost....but we didn't win. That's how I see it.
Sorry.