Being the pinnacle of liberal MSM thinking, it is interesting to see the NYTimes desparately find some hope in the upcoming judicial nomination showdown with the Senate filibuster. And they reflect this today in an article about the drooping image of Congress.

Americans ARE sick of the unnecessary waltzing around by the two parties. What Americans want the Senate to do is simple: make your case, cast your vote and respect the results. Results that are driven by the results of our federal, democratic elections spanning the last 10 years.

But somehow this escapes the NYTimes, because they do not understand what the response will be when the Senate finally does start voting and the new judges start getting seated. They do not understand that Americans want the senate to get this done and move on, and they want to follow the traditions of democracy (read majority rule). And they definitely will have no patience for any chicken little alarms that do not come to pass, and will reject those who predict the ruin of our nation and it surprisingly does not come true. American have very little patience for people who yell ‘fire’ to simply get attention when there is now fire.

With the Senate filibuster fight approaching its climax, one of the biggest questions on Capitol Hill is: who’s winning? At the moment, the answer appears to be no one – at least from a political perspective.

This is now the best the MSM can expect out of this, the reps and dems will lose on this. Of course if Priscilla Owens and Janice Rogers Brown are confirmed the conservative right will be ecstatic (and rapidly forget the painful road to their goal) and the liberal left will be further deflated.

The polls drop the public view of Congress to levels near those of the government shutdown of 1995.

Rightfully, the NYTImes points out the turmoil is high and the electorate fed up. But they can only see certain potential outcomes.

“As a result of this debate, both Senate Republicans and Democrats have seen drops in brand images,” said a memorandum from the Senate Republican Conference, “but Democrats are losing much more ground than we are.”

Democrats and others dispute that notion, saying that Republicans – as members of the party controlling the White House as well as the House and Senate – are suffering the most and will pay the higher political price if the negative view persists into the next election cycle.

The parties are spinning their predictions, but the dems are kidding themselves if they think the 52% who voted for Bush last fall will be upset when his nominees start getting confirmed. Their spin assumes a fairly ignorant electorate which cannot discern reps and dems, and success or failure. They naively believe there bad behavior and losing will not be associated with them but Congress as a whole??

Another factor in the public perception, according to some current and former lawmakers, is that Americans have little personal stake in a rules fight and can reach the conclusion that Congress is not looking out for them on pocketbook issues but is instead caught up in self-serving power struggles.

Can the NYTimes comprehend the fact that all this bickering is caused by the dems because (a) they will not follow 214 years of Senate tradition and resist the use of the filibuster for judicial nominees, (b) they will not allow the majority to decide and reflect the results of a decade of elections, or (c) they cannot emotionally deal with being in the minority. Is it one or the other or some combination? Doesn’t matter really. But when the judges are confirmed EVERYONE will realize the bickering was a huge waste of time – no matter what silly motives the democrats wish to claim. The country will not fall into ruin, and more people will see the left and MSM as unreliable.

“Republicans are setting the agenda,” said Phil Singer, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. “They are responsible.”

Duh. They are responsible for the results, and with 52+% of the nation supportive of them that is why they will not receive a lasting negative impact on this if they succeed. The dems, on the other hand, will be responsible for wasting time and losing in the end.