On a more positive note, it's encouraging to see Senate Republicans starting to take the judiciary issue seriously. The nearly 40-hour marathon session was a big step in the right direction, and hopefully it signals a Republican desire to keep this issue on the front burner until it's resolved.

Never in American history has there been a single judicial nominee, approved by the judiciary committe, who was then filibustered and denied a straight up/down vote in the Senate. Currently, Senate Democrats are blocking a vote on four of this president's nominees, and will likely do the same to a half-dozen more in the coming months.

After the marathon, the Senate again voted on whether to close debate on three of the nominees, which would then allow them to be voted on by the full Senate. The vote to close in the three cases was 53-43, 53-42, and 52-42 in favor of closing debate. Which, of course, means that debate does not get closed, and the 53 senators are held hostage by the distinct minority. But the Democrat's blockade will be much harder to maintain if the public glare continues to build.