Oh, that's right...

It's called Democracy. Lindsay Beyerstein, guest-blogging at the Washington Monthly, has a great line about Bush's Supreme Court nominee - who, by the way, thinks 10-year olds should be jailed for the heinous crime of french-fry eating. Anyway, Lindsay:

The Republicans are trying to convince the public that the president has the right to have his nominees confirmed. That's absolutely ridiculous. Regardless of what you think about the judicial filibuster, the fact remains that every senator is responsible for evaluating and critiquing the nominees (adivsing) and approving only those she deems worthy (consenting). Consent implies the choice between assent and dissent. You can't exercise consent when "consent" is your only option.

It's really scary how "mainstream" the idea of silence and obedience to power has become. This is just another example of that.