According to an e-mail from MoveOn:

Last night at 7:30pm, with only hours to go before Senator Frist rose in the Senate to try to break the rules and seize power to appoint extreme judges, 14 senators announced they had struck a deal. As powerful far-right leader James Dobson put it, “This Senate agreement represents a complete bailout and betrayal by a cabal of Republicans and a great victory for united Democrats…The rules that blocked conservative nominees remain in effect, and nothing of significance has changed.”

For once, we agree with Mr. Dobson. With 7 Republicans pledging to oppose Frist’s scheme as long as the Democrats stick to the standard for filibusters they’ve used all along — only using them in extraordinary circumstances — the “nuclear option” is dead unless Republicans break their word. And if that happens we will be in a much stronger position to stop them.

If you noted my earlier post, you realize that “Sam Smith is wrong” is perhaps the only thing in history that MoveOn and James Dobson have ever agreed on. I still don’t know that I’d be all that giddy, were I the Dems, over a “compromise” that lets Owen through the net and that leaves open the door future nard-busting. But some Dems are declaring victory and some right-wingers are pitching running hissy fits, so what do I know…. [Also, plenty more, especially from chiasmushf and who_is_sylvia, in the comment thread here.]

[I assume the full text of the MoveOn e-mail will eventually be posted here, although it hasn’t been yet.]