It's Senate Shootout Time

Well, folks, it's Senate Shootout week and let's wish Sheriff Reid and his posse luck as they head to the Filibuster Corral.

This is the week that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has pledged to call a vote to ban filibusters against judicial nominees unless Democrats get weak-kneed and cave on President Bush's extremist choices.

A bipartisan group of 12 Senators – six from each side of the aisle – have met throughout the weekend but it is unclear whether any headway has been made on a compromise. Under the terms being discussed, six Democrats would agree not to block President Bush's judicial picks except in "extreme" circumstances. In return, six Republicans would agree to oppose the proposed change in filibuster rules.

I hope no such compromise is reached as it would mean that our party has decided that far-right judges that they deemed the most unacceptable of Bush's 200 plus nominees would have suddenly become more palatable – and that's just not right. If they were bad judges last week, they're bad judges this week.

The time has come – let's have this out.