The increasing debate on judges and the Senate filibuster is not really about these few judges. It's about getting a radical Supreme Court nominee this term, with a simple up or down vote.
We keep hearing over and over from the right about how the nation needs Bush's judges approved, or that the judiciary is some 'activist' bunch that answers to no one. This is all just groundwork for ending the filibuster before the opportunity comes to nominate a Supreme Court Justice.
That's why this group of judges were re-nominated together. It takes the heat off their awful individual records, and it guarantees a stand-off since they've already been nominated before. And their records are important: if the ongoing filibuster looks reasonable, ending it looks more radical.
This strategy goes hand-in-hand with the increasing anger that jugdish describes http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/4/5/134647/3292. Increasing conservatives' visible anger also increases their ability to play victim, which ironically still seems to work for these guys.
This is a multi-pronged attack designed to focus attention on lower and less-critical issues. The temporary end of the judicial filibuster is the real target here, not the approval of the individuals that Dubya has put up again. Packing the lower courts is just a handy side effect and a rallying cry for short attention spans.
Remember, this group will NEVER discuss their real agenda until after it's too late, or the public will oppose it. This is true for every major thing this administration has spent any energy on. It is no different here.
Any upcoming Supreme Court nominations will get some media attention, and Bush doesn't want a Bork. He wants NO debate, and to still get his radical. The real goal is to get the filibuster out of the way before a justice retires. Once a retirement is announced, then ending the filibuster option might start looking as radical as it really is.
This strategy has the potential to get one or two justices on the court that do not believe in precedent, and do not believe in the constitutional legality of the New Deal. That would be a tremendous victory for the far right, and has been a long-term goal.
The right WANTS these pawns filibustered so that they can focus on the filibuster itself now. So far they're succeeding with the focus.