Return of the up-or-down vote

This isn't a phrase we ever heard in conjunction with the name Harriet Miers, but now that the right have found their ideal activist judge it's being taken off the shelf and dusted off.

Republicans said that any attempt to deny Alito a yes-or-no vote would return the Senate to the brink of a showdown that was avoided last spring only when seven lawmakers from each party brokered a compromise. This time, they said they would crush Democratic opposition.

GOP lawmakers sounded relieved to be rid of the Miers appointment, which collapsed last week after it became clear she faced an uphill climb in winning confirmation.

"Let's give Judge Alito a fair up-or-down vote, not left or right," said Sen. John Thune, R-S.D.

Americablog has links to a couple of stories showing the GOP's eagerness to do away with the filibuster. Again. It's good to see some high-profile Democrats come out swinging on this one, but with the right-wing spin machine in full effect, the mainstream press is already filled with dutiful righties praising Alito's centrism and even-handedness. Which, needless to say, is total baloney.