Major Kong Defecting?

A report this morning indicates that Rick "Major Kong" Santorum, who has been one of the strongest supporters deploying the nuclear option, may be thinking about dipping a toe into the reasonable side of the stream. The Hill's Alexander Bolton writes that after examing internal GOP polls, Santorum is now "privately arguing for a delay" of a barn-burning vote on nuclear war in the Senate.

Citing "Senate sources," Bolton writes that unreleased Republican polling data show that a majority of Americans "accept the Democratic message that Republicans are trying to destroy the tradition of debate in the Senate," even as they oppose the filibuster of judicial nominees. An unnamed aide said that Santorum has argued to Majority Leader Bill Frist that a vote on the nuclear option in the present climate of fallout from the Schiavo case and recent anti-judge comments from Tom DeLay and others would be inadvisable.

Other sources quoted by Bolton suggested that Santorum's calls for delay might be more pragmatic, saying he just wanted to make sure several more key pieces of legislation were enacted before the nuclear option is deployed and the Senate's work is stalled.

A defection by Rick Santorum is certainly unlikely (this is more likely a 'fall back and regroup' moment), but if these polls are correct, it seems to be the case that the longer action is forestalled, the more the reasonable wing of the Republican Party and the American people in general are coming to understand the nasty ramifications of nuclear warfare in the Senate.