OK, Now what?

The three judges covered in "The Deal", essentially the Republican's reward out of the compromise, have been confirmed as expected. Now we get to find out what reward, if anything, the Democrats will receive for participation in the deal. Here the terms of the deal are murkier, with more room for interpretation. The mystery has both sides a bit spooked: From the NYTimes:

Members of both parties acknowledge that the Senate is heading into the unknown now that the three candidates assured floor votes under the unusual judicial compromise - Mr. Pryor, Janice Rogers Brown and Priscilla R. Owen - have gone on to the bench after years of filibusters. Two other disputed nominations remain unresolved, and others are on deck in addition to the real possibility of a Supreme Court vacancy.

"We are moving into 'here there be dragons' territory," said Eric Ueland, chief of staff to the Senate majority leader, Bill Frist, referring to the uncertainties and potential dangers for both parties that lie in the unexplored Senate waters ahead.

From one perspective, the question "what will the Republicans do?" or "what will the Democrats do?" is easily answered. The much discussed "Deal" is not a legal contract, and has no binding power over anyone. So the answer to the "what will they do?" question is, "whatever suits their purpose at the moment." One could also put it this way, "Whatever they can get away with." The Republicans sorta promised to leave the filibuster alone, and the Democrats sorta promised to refrain from filibustering candidates who were not "extremists." But if either group becomes convinced that they can benefit with voters by taking aggressive action, the much heralded Deal will be instantly forgotten.

At the moment, however, the dealmakers appear confident that their ad hoc caucus will hold together. Easy to say, however, when the group not yet been tested in a meaningful way. Bigger and thornier tests on the senatorial horizon are coming along very soon.

Senate Republicans say they will wait to see if Democrats employ a filibuster against any judges in the weeks ahead and respond accordingly. Democrats say they will not hesitate to act if another Bush administration candidate they deem too conservative reaches the floor.

In other words they will watch each other like hawks, and respond accordingly, The Deal is only as strong as the memory of the voters. Once they lose interest, "the Deal" will be quickly forgotten.