[Cboldt]

They don't need to sell it to the public. They need to sell it to 51 Senators. And they get to choose which 51 Senators to make their pitch to.

That's the first level. Don't lose sight that the Senators have the burden of answering to voters. I told mune that I would work my fingers to the bone to unseat them if they voted up a nominee that did not have a clear record that reflected a jurisprudential philosophy that resembled that of Thomas, Scalia or Rhenquist.

[lifelongsoldier]

This is precisely why we need to repeal the seventeenth amendment to the Constitution. The framers had is right the first time.