You'll Pardon Me...

So, the reason I think the compromise on filibustering Bush's judicial nominees was a bad deal is that the worst ones appear to be guaranteed a vote. TAPPED has some decent posts on the subject, including the suggestion that the Senate might refuse to confirm one of the nominees. Professor Stone, meanwhile, does the math and comes up with a Democratic win. Matthew Yglesias thinks a bit about it and isn't convinced that it was a good deal for Democrats.

I'm not really convinced either. I think all nominees that get a vote will be approved. I think the Republicans will inevitably cry foul when the Democrats filibuster, and after letting these judges through, what could possibly count as an extraordinary circumstance? If the agreement included an implict promise that one of the judges won't be confirmed, then it's great, but if not, I think it's a pretty one-sided deal.