On this day that Harriet Miers resigned, Republicans in the Senate are trying to send a signal that they will fight a Democratic blockade of the president’s judicial nominees. New Majority Leader Harry Reid is addressing the Senate for the first time now, to be followed by new Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who will tell the Senate that, “I’m eager to work with my colleagues to find bold solutions to big problems. Yet on some things I will not yield.” By that he means:

I will never agree to proposals that weaken the security of our citizens at home or the capabilities of our armed forces abroad …
I will never agree to a tax increase on working families or small businesses. Our economy is strong because of the hard work and enterprise of Americans. We will not undermine that spirit by taxing it …
And I will never agree to retreat from our responsibility to confirm qualified judicial nominees.