Guess who else was prepared to shut down the Senate?

In recent weeks, as talk of the “nuclear option” has shifted from speculation to imminent floor fight, conservatives have wielded a double-edged kvetch: they’re irate about Dems blocking the least qualified of Bush’s judicial nominees, and they’re almost as incensed about how Dems would retaliate if Republicans gutted the Senate’s filibuster rules.

A week ago, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid made it clear to Bill Frist and the GOP: go nuclear and the Senate will come to a screeching halt. As Reid put it, Senate Dems “would never block legislation vital to our troops or other national security interests, and we will help ensure that critical government services continue to function for the American people,” but that’s about it.

The right responded with predictable bluster. The very idea that a lawmaker would recommend shutting down Senate business unless he got his way was too outrageous for conservatives to tolerate. As Frist put it, “To shut down the Senate would be irresponsible and partisan.”

So, how many conservatives are ready to condemn Rick “Man on Dog” Santorum?

Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pennsylvania, a prominent abortion foe who faces a difficult re-election race in 2006 and also holds presidential ambitions, also injected himself into the [Terri Schiavo] issue.

He told fellow GOP leaders last week he was prepared to hold up passage of any legislation if necessary, including the budget, to force action on a bill to give federal courts jurisdiction in Schiavo’s case. (emphasis added)

Reid threatens to bring the Senate to a halt? Outrage. Santorum threatens to bring the Senate to a halt? Silence.

Granted, Santorum didn’t have to follow through on his threat because the Senate was anxious to intervene in the Schiavo case. But it’s interesting that Santorum was prepared to shut down the Senate to get his way and conservatives seem to think such a tactic would have been perfectly acceptable.