can't blame the GOP. this is pure democrat fault.      often these older politicians make huge mistakes, for short term power. it's pure selfishness.     look at john mccain -- getting old, tired of being essentially useless and forgotten, decides to support things like immigration to have some sort of popularity and 'legacy'.     same thing with reid, getting old, not much time left in life, decides to take drastic measures.    the key problem with their decision making process, is it is entirely based on their age and the time they have left in office. they give very little care to the implications of their actions, because all they care about is short term power grabs. it's clear people making decisions like that, don't care about america much beyond their own life expectancy.     traditionally, obama's voters think voting for obama is all they need to do to have their way.     when the republicans gain control of the senate, and they will eventually, the democrats will essentially become a minority in the government with no power at all. they won't even be able to whine, they'll have to sit there with their mouths shut and take it up the ass.     democrats are going to be spending the better part of the next decade trying to remain relevant.    let's not forget that republicans could have used the nuclear option in the past, but decided against it and dealt with democratic filibusters.    the whole principle behind a filibuster, is to protect the minority. often times, allowing the minority to filibuster is better than allowing the majority to do whatever they want. it's a greater good sort of thing. it's often less detrimental having something held up in the senate/congress, than having one party allowed to pass whatever they want and having it backfire.