"What is happening here, is that the Senate is closing ranks in the face of special interest interference. They, the Senators believe that it would be perceived badly if they cave."
I agree totally with you.
Unfortunately, as was proven in the Clinton impeachment, the Republican House members have all the backbone and cojones. The Senate Repubs, for the most part, are a bunch of spineless eunuchs.
Don't forget why and how the Senate was created by the founders.
It was meant to be as apolitical as possible and deliberative.
In the beginning,members were appointed, and not elected for this reason. They did not want reelection politics involved in decision making.
The senate still clings to that ideal as they should, IMO.
Although some members are certainly in the spineless category, the bulk of them are often misinterpreted by partisans on both sides.
I try to take it with a grain of understanding, but these days it is not easy to do that because of the huge responsibilities that they are saddled with.
But, it does not surprise me at all for them to resist partisan interference, and I expect them to do so in the future.
There's a reason for this. In the House, the Representatives are elected by small, local districts, some of which have an electorate that is VERY conservative. Someone like Ron Paul or Steve Chabot can get elected in the right district, but I doubt either guy would win a Senate race. In the Senate, you have to appeal to an entire state which usually means that you can't be as conservative. Which is why most of us can name 10 RINO's in the Senate off the top of our heads but would take a while to find that many in the House.