Backroom Dealer

David Brooks reports a hidden deal offered by Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid to Bill Frist in this column.
Bill Frist should have taken the deal.

Last week, the Senate Democratic leader, Harry Reid, made an offer to head off a nuclear exchange over judicial nominations. Reid offered to allow votes on a few of the judges stuck in limbo if the Republicans would withdraw a few of the others.

But there was another part of the offer that hasn't been publicized. I've been reliably informed that Reid also vowed to prevent a filibuster on the next Supreme Court nominee.
I'm most interested in how Brooks got the story. Maybe he dug it out, but I suspect somebody, probably a swing Republican, fed it to him. Brooks backs the party line that the nuclear option will work, but maybe some other Republicans are sending Frist a smoke signal. The rest of the column is well worth reading. "This way madness lies" is a key theme.

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