1) If there was cloture it wasn't a filibuster (or it was a failed filibuster)
2) The Republicans blocked many more nominees of Clinton's by not even letting them come out of committee. So give me no crap about how the Republicans were noble and the Democrats are not.
The whole point of blocking them by filibuster is to require a "super-majority". I think that's actually a decent idea where judges are concerned. Appointing a bunch of folks who are highly objectionable to many seems likely to lead to rulings that are widely disrespected. Society requires compromise and moderation to function.
The Boston Globe had a nice
editorial on how slimey Frist's attempt to change the rules is. It's bad faith, any way you look at it.
But the reality is, what the Republicans sow they will reap. I'll cheerfully vote for Democrats for blocking Bush's agenda. Eventually the Democrats will return to power, and there will be a very nasty reckoning... no, I don't like it. But unless enough Republicans defect on the rules change, that's the way it's going to be.