Prometheus 6

I read OpinionJournal's opinion on Why Republicans can't let the judicial filibuster succeed.

Barring a surprise last-minute deal, this week Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist will ask for a ruling from the chair--Vice President Dick Cheney presiding--that ending debate on a judicial nominee requires a vote of a simple majority of 51 Senators, not a super-majority of 60. The nuclear option--aka the "constitutional option"--will have been detonated. Judicial filibusters, R.I.P.

Okay, first of all, "judicial filibusters are not a special case. If there is debate taking place on the floor of the Senate, each Senator is entitled to speak to the issue without interruption until done. That the topic is whether to consent to an appointment is beside the point.