I think the Democratic move today in the Senate is politically canny. In the past
five days, Democrats have seen the political momentum shifting the
president’s way with shocking speed. They don’t know what to do about
the inspired Alito nomination, which they almost certainly can’t
filibuster. And with the president’s announcement of a war against
bird flu this morning — which strikes me as ridiculous policy but
inspired Clintonian politics — Democrats were on the verge of having
the Fitzgerald probe consigned to the ash-heap of history. And what
do they have going for them right now but Scooter-gate? So by pulling
this unprecedented maneuver with Section 21, they’re staging a
counterassault against the president’s effort to change the political
story of the moment. This is the sort of thing to make the Huffington
Puffington people shriek with happiness and the Kossians to chortle
with joy — almost as much as Bush pulling Miers’s nomination did for
us (I know, we’re not supposed to gloat, but come on). And
unfortunately, what the GOP has to respond to the maneuver is Bill
Frist, who’s a great and noble human being but a stinko political
leader. It may not work, but there’s no sense pretending this is a
dumb thing to do. It isn’t.