What the hey?

Man, I’m just baffled by the Democrats’ filibuster of John Bolton’s nomination to the United Nations. For some reason, I assumed that filibuster fatigue had set in, but the Dems appear to be committed to “obstruction forever.”

Since I thought that breaking the logjam on a handful of judicial nominees was a “small-v victory” for the Republicans, I have to come down on the side that this was a small-d defeat. Ultimately, Bill Frist has to be able to deliver on the most basic kind of chore such as getting his President’s administration choices through the Senate. (Rumor has it that Frist had a deal with Harry Reid, and Reid – unsurprisingly – broke his word.) There hasn’t been an executive branch block of a nominee since John Tower and that was to be Secretary of Defense (what? fifth in line to the Presidency?).

That’s why I find the filibuster of John Bolton bizarre: it is so small potatoes. The Democrats can’t credibly assert that after months of investigations and hearings that they need still more information. It’s just obstruction and pettiness now.

Well, I need to review some of the blogs for reaction. Smell you later.

Update – Steve at Pardon my English has the right idea.

Extra – Dr. T over at Poliblog has very similar thoughts: “However, this is a remarkable amount of energy to put forth to block a nominee to an office that ultimately isn’t as important as the Democrats (and Republicans) have been making it out to be.”