Polls Are Making the GOP Nervous

It's a little disconcerting to read that Senator Rick Santorum of PA, the guy leading the charge on the nuclear option, is beginning to get cold feet thanks to some internal polls. Here's the story from The Hill (hat tip Powerline):

Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), a leading advocate of the “nuclear option” to end the Democrats’ filibuster of judicial nominees, is privately arguing for a delay in the face of adverse internal party polls.

Details of the polling numbers remain under wraps, but Santorum and other Senate sources concede that, while a majority of Americans oppose the filibuster, the figures show that most also accept the Democratic message that Republicans are trying to destroy the tradition of debate in the Senate.

The Republicans are keeping the “nuclear” poll numbers secret, whereas they have often in the past been keen to release internal survey results that favor the party. David Winston, head of the Winston Group, which conducts Senate GOP polls, did return phone calls seeking comment.

Confirming public disquiet over the “nuclear” or “constitutional” option, Santorum said, “Our polling shows that.” But, he added, public thinking had been muddied by what he called false Democratic arguments that checks and balances were being eroded.

“People see checks and balances as Democrats checking Republicans, not the legislative checking the executive or the judiciary checking the legislative,” Santorum said. Filibustering presidential nominees was not something the Founding Fathers envisioned as a tool for balancing power between the branches, he argued. In other words, Democrats have managed to convince the public of their right to check Republicans in the Senate.

Santorum’s raising of reasons that Republicans should delay the constitutional option may surprise conservative activists who count him as one of the most passionate advocates for the tactic in the Senate.

Look folks, we're always going to be less than 2 years from a Congressional election, and as we know in politics, polls can change very quickly. The longer we wait, the closer we get to campaign season and the easier it will be for the Dems to remind the voters what those "evil" Republicans did. If we wait, it will be that much easier for the Dems to demonize the GOP for changing the rules. With over a year and a half to go before the next election, don't you think we have plenty of time to undo any political damage that may temporarily result from the nuclear option. If not now, when? It won't get any easier.

Here are some other recent posts on the filibuster from the local guys in the So Cal Blogger's Alliance:

Blogotional
Hedgehog Blog
Sheep's Crib
Okie on the Lam