The Gorsuch Maru

Remember a week ago, when we were all worried about the Republicans going nuclear? It makes complete and total sense, since the use of atomic weapons by any group or body seems indefensible. Ask the folks in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Oh, wait. You can't because they were vaporized.
Or maybe this "going nuclear" is hyperbole. You  remember hyperbole, don't you? It's the stuff and nonsense of the Trump "presidency." Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally are the junk that flops around on Twitter and press conferences and twenty-four hour news networks. As it turns out, there were no nuclear weapons used in the Senate last week. There was a confirmation of Supreme Court Justice, and then everyone scattered for a two week vacation. Job well done. Done, anyway. And  that whole "nuclear option?" That was about how that job got done. The Republican leadership chose to change the rules about how Supreme Court Justices are appointed. After two hundred thirty years of doing things a certain way, things were not necessarily going the Republican's way and so they decided to change that way. No more consensus building. No more waiting around for that tired old filibuster. Not enough votes? Change the rules.
This isn't nuclear. This is the kobayashi maru. It's not science. It's not history. It's science fiction. Captain James T. Kirk didn't like the way things turned out in the academy's no-win scenario, so he changed the scenario. Mitch McConnell didn't like the way things were going, so he changed the scenario. No more two-thirds. Just  a straight majority. 
Boom. Nothing changed on an atomic level. It changed on a very large scale. Lives will most definitely be changed by this event. It's the Supreme Court, after all. Decisions will be made. Constitutional type decisions. If, for example, the "President" wanted to commit a war someplace and didn't have the congressional support or permission he needed, having a Supreme Court around that would help out. In a pinch. 
Or maybe it's already happening. Nuclear seems to be a way that things get done these days. If you aren't happy about it, you have an option. It's not nuclear, but it's pretty radical. It's called a participatory democracy. Participate. For all of our sakes.