Northern Valley Beacon
Information, observations, and analysis from the James River valley on the Northern Plains----- E-Mail: Enter 'Beacon' in subject box. Send to: Minnekota@Referencedesk.orgTuesday, May 24, 2005
Significance of filibuster compromise: A nation growing intolerant of mean and stupid partisanship
This two-paragraph lead by Dan Balz in the Washington Post gives the most astute perspective on the filibuster compromise so far. The real significance is not how the compromise affects the parties or the institution of the Senate, but how it responds to the growing restiveness of the massive center of the country about the nature of partisan idiocy that debases the nation.
In a dramatic break with the ideological warfare that has defined the politics of Washington for much of the past decade, the center held firm in the Senate last night, as a bipartisan group of senators unexpectedly signed a compromise that yanked the institution back from a historic clash over judicial nominations.
The negotiators had spent a week laboring to find the language to define their agreement. But with the Senate just hours away from pulling the trigger on the "nuclear option," the seven Republicans and seven Democrats managed to defy predictions. They found both the language to make a deal possible and the courage to risk the wrath of partisans on both sides who were pushing for an all-or-nothing outcome.
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