A National Review reader sums it up:
So let me get this straight. The Democrats agree top allow three votes they can’t stop in return for the Republicans stopping all the other votes they ( the Democrats) can’t stop. The Republicans agree that the Democrats can do this again if they decide conditions constitute an “extraordinary circumstance”, and the Republicans agree that until the next election they will allow them to do this witout fear of retribution. This is what passes for moderation and compromise in Washington? What did we gain that we didn’t already have? What did we give up in return for nothing? Forget the RINO argument, any Republican that agreed to this deal is just plain stupid and deserves to be defeated for incompetence.
Stupid? No, not at all. Unless you understand that the whole point of the filibuster deal is to ensure that the National Democrats have a good excuse to avoid nominating any judges who will respect the Constitution as demanded by their conservative base, you’re going to mistakenly conclude that they are stupid and continually being tricked by those cunning Social Democrats, who, despite their superior brainpower, can’t figure out how to win an election.
Keep in mind that you’re talking about the party that put Howard Dean in charge of its money grubbing. You know, the astute fellow who thinks he’s going to reach out to the religious half of America by talking about the New Testament wisdom to be found in the Book of Job.