Activists within the extreme right fringe of the Republican Party (a substantial chunk of the GOP coalition) have begun to voice outrage that the Senate Republicans are not pursuing the nuclear option with sufficient effort. Alexander Bolton lays out some of these concerns in The Hill:

Conservative alarm surged when the Republican leadership canceled a briefing of Senate staff and activists by Martin Gold, a former Frist aide and master of Senate parliamentary procedure who is advising Republicans on the issue. The cancellation of the special meeting, which was scheduled for the Easter recess, left some with the impression that Frist might be backing away in the face of Democrats’ threat to retaliate by shutting down the Senate.

Business interests on K Street are urging Frist to delay the tactic because it could imperil their legislative agenda, as The Hill reported this week.

The conservatives’ concern was also fueled by Frist’s efforts to negotiate with Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to find a compromise. One Democratic aide said that Frist appeared to be backing away from the tactic.

Conservatives have also expressed concern about a paucity of information about GOP plans to overcome filibusters. GOP aides in the Senate said that they too know little about what is being planned; strategy and negotiations over the nuclear option are closely held within Frist’s office.

At the root of this concern is the reality that a) the American people do not support such a move, and b) a number of Republicans have refused to back the plan -- and not just liberals like Linc Chafee.

Even Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), assistant majority leader, has been viewed as wavering.

Given the political reality in Washington -- i.e. the backlash against GOP attempts to trample the independent judiciary in the Terri Schiavo measure -- it's going to take a lot more than a speech by Rick Santorum to lead this blogger to believe that the Republicans will ultimately triumph on the nuclear option.