Post-election Rebound by Dems

As you know, the Senate has and will fillibuster the nomination of judicial appointees during Bush's term. Republicans complain that this is out of the ordinary, that in the past this political method has rarely been used for this purpose. As JB at Balkinization explains, these are not ordinary times:

"I think that many folks on the other side of the political divide don't quite get how angry many Dems are about the election. They well understand that Dems are upset about losing the Presidency, but what they don't quite understand is that it's more than just being sore losers-- the Dems think that something *illegal* happened. They don't get how seriously many Democrats feel that our constitutional system has been hijacked by people they don't trust. The Bush Administration, in turn, has done little to reassure them that it will play nice or play fair, or that it will use its powers with restraint. Indeed, the Bush Administration has cultivated a reputation for taking no prisoners. (Or to put it another way, the only prisoners the Bush Adminstration takes are being held at Guantanamo Bay.)

If you look at current events from this perspective, I think you can see why the confirmation process has broken down. It has broken down because trust has broken down, and trust is what keeps the wheels of government working smoothly even when people have strong disagreements about public policy."