Hubris is a common theme in Greek mythology. It is revealed in several classic tragedies that tell of those so prideful that the gods themselves become either justly wrathful or egocentrically jealous and punish the boaster.

Take the bard Thamyris, for example. He was so vain that he claimed he could out-sing the Muses themselves. Nine archaic goddesses, the Muses embodied the right evocation of myth, inspired through remembered and improvised song and traditional music and dances. They struck Thamyris blind for his arrogance and stripped him of his beautiful voice.

Even after death, Thamyris continued suffering for his pride at the hands of Hades.

Nothing more than ancient stories, these myths nevertheless warn of the consequences of boastful arrogance. Would that our congressmen had learned the lessons the myths teach before tightly entwining the reins of power around their hands.

But the senators currently considering the so-called “nuclear option” to stop the filibustering of judicial nominations seem to be suffering from the same problem as Thamyris.

Granted, nothing would please me more than to see benches across the land filled with conservative judges contemptuous of Roe vs. Wade. Liberals would then be totally powerless and, happily, no longer able to push their at best completely misguided and at worst outright evil agenda.

But a dangerous precedent will be set if Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist follows through with plans to blow up the Senate with the nuclear option. One day the Republicans will find themselves out of power. And much as I might prefer Libertarians to replace them, the awful truth of the matter is that it will certainly be the Democrats instead.

And once they are back in power they will not hesitate to viciously repress the progress made under the Republican leadership.

Perhaps they will invoke a point of order and decree it illegal to filibuster tax increases. No, the nuclear option, much as it might benefit the Republicans in the short term, is too dangerous to hand down as a precedent to the future Democrat-controlled congresses. In their hands, it could prove ruinous.

If only the senators considered the actual qualifications rather than allowing personal politics to play a part in the decision to allow an up or down vote. But that’s not going to happen because the real issue for both sides is finding judges who will go with one agenda or the other.

It matters not to either staunch conservatives or radical liberals how qualified a particular judge will be, only that he is either for or against abortion, for or against a strict interpretation of the Constitution, or whether they are for or against the Patriot Act.

According to the Center for Individual Freedom’s website, Standing Rule XXII allows the filibuster, providing for unlimited debate in the Senate until a cloture motion for ending debate is filed and the question is "decided in the affirmative by three-fifths of the senators duly chosen and sworn."

But the nuclear option is the one way around the filibuster. As no previous Senate can bind the actions of any following Senate, the current officeholders have the right to amend, repeal, or ratify any and all of the body’s rules by a simple majority vote. Put simply, a majority of senators could eliminate the filibuster if they so chose.

If the Republicans decide to follow through, at the time of a cloture vote to end debate, the Senate majority would secure a ruling from the chair that Standing Rule XXII does not apply to the confirmation of judicial nominees.

The chair, Vice President Dick Cheney, would concur and rule in favor of the Republicans. Before actually voting on the measure, the Democrats would, of course, claim that the issue is debatable.

Senate precedent would seem to agree but the chair could then recognize a non-debatable motion to table. The majority could at that point overrule the precedent, uphold the ruling of the chair, and proceed to a final, simple majority vote. And the filibustering of judicial nominees would be no more.

It must be a heady realization for Sen. Frist and the other Republicans to know the power they command. But as its name implies, it’s not called the nuclear option for nothing.

The war between the two parties would escalate to an unprecedented degree as Democrats would surely bring the rest of the Senate’s business to a halt. In this regard, though I disagree with practically everything they do, I would not blame them.

The only viable option is for the Republicans to control their own willful pride and restrain themselves from using the nuclear option. Bush simply needs to keep forcing conservative nominees before the Senate.

As there is currently a very real vacancy crisis plaguing the federal appellate bench, this would give the Democrats no choice but to confirm his picks or risk hampering the judiciary in carrying out its duties.

They would then be the ones forced to suffer for their hubris and pay the price for standing in the way not only of Senate business but also the courts.

Thamyris was a little before their time but as Tom Daschle should have taught them in the last election: pride does indeed goeth before the fall.

Jeff O’Bryant is an amateur historian and holds two degrees, a bachelor’s in education and a bachelor’s with honors in history. He is a columnist and staff writer for The Catoosa County News and can be contacted at jeffobryant@catt.com.