While trying to blame Democrats for mishandling the entire matter, other Republicans also distanced themselves from Mr. Bunning, whom Democrats were holding up as the embodiment of what they say has been a maddening pattern of Republican obstruction in the Senate.
“This is one senator,” said Senator John Cornyn of Texas, a chief political strategist for Senate Republicans. “This does not represent the position of the caucus.”
Other party officials said that while the Bunning fight was not helpful, it probably would not do serious damage as long as it ended rapidly.
It only took wall to wall coverage of the Republicans looking like total assholes for them to realize that filibustering assistance for the unemployed was a bad idea. Would have been nice if say, they thought that screwing the unemployed was a bad idea in the first place. I know, I know, asking way too much.