On Capitol Hill, Senators have opened debate on a handful of President Bush’s judicial nominees. This comes as Republicans are threatening to change the rules of the Senate in order to bar Democrats from using a filibuster to block a vote on judicial nominees. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has accused Democrats of abusing their rights. But Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid has defended the filibuster as a “check on power and preserves our limited government. Three Republicans are ready to vote against the so-called “nuclear option.” They are John McCain of Arizona, Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island and Olympia Snowe of Maine.