“...As Majority Leader Harry Reid orchestrated the change in the rules governing executive nominations and lower-court appointments, his opponents cried tyranny, though they also promised that when they took power they would go further, applying the new standard to Supreme Court nominations. In other words, tyranny—but we promise we’ll give you more of it. The new rules fit with that kind of Senate.
...Whoever is ultimately at fault for the rule change—the Democrats who forced it or the Republicans who blocked the nominations requiring the new rules—the result is that the minority will have less power. That means elections will matter even more than they did before. Every Republican campaign now has more incentive to fight harder to win the six seats needed to take back the Senate in the 2014 election. Presidential elections now mean more, too. Reid’s move will secure Obama’s legacy because the new nominees to the appeals court will be in a position to protect his achievements. Moderate senators will hold more power. Democratic Sens. Mark Pryor and Joe Manchin voted against the rule change. In the future, in a closely divided Senate, they are the kind of senators who will be the key vote to give or deny the majority their nominee. Sen. Carl Levin, a Democrat, also voted against the new rules, but he’s retiring, making way for another rookie. If the rookie is a Republican, one of his or her first tasks may be changing the rules again.”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3094239/posts
Will packing the DC court also shield Holder from crimes (lying to Congress, Fast and Furious) and shield 0bama for his many crimes and forgeries?
Elections always mattered. The GOP has squandered too many, starting with that Minnesota Clown.