[Coop]

I still think McCain & Co. acted like traitors in trying to broker a deal to get around their own party's position

But as I suspected (Graham alluded to this when the deal came out) and this article supports, Frist was kept in the loop of what was going on.

Please don't mistake my comment as supporting John McCain! :-)

[kevkrom]

But as I suspected (Graham alluded to this when the deal came out) and this article supports, Frist was kept in the loop of what was going on.

I imagine the message was sent loud and clear that a real betrayal of the party line would result in punishments (loss of prestigious committee assignments, withdrawal of support for re-election, etc.) -- nonetheless, the apparent betrayal was still damaging enough.