Charlie Cook seems to think so.

The pressure on Republicans will be that they are now well on the way to having a year in which they will get little, if any, credit for any legislative accomplishments and instead will be remembered for controversies over filibusters, Terri Schiavo and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas. Overhauls of bankruptcy and class-action lawsuits have been overshadowed and progress on the energy bill and other badly needed legislation is being threatened by the Senate's, media's and activists' preoccupation with going nuclear. Republicans need to get the train back on track and focus the spotlight on issues that affect voters' daily lives, instead of on partisan fights over inside baseball and culture wars.

Democrats have seized the higher ground on a number of issues since the Nov. 2 elections and have succeeded in framing Republicans as arrogant and out of touch. But they are coming under pressure to build on those gains rather than run the risk of being labeled obstructionists -- a charge that was a contributing factor in last year's defeat of former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D. -- by pushing too hard on this one fight.

In the end, the pressure to "do the right thing," and to respect the institution might still prevail, convincing most senators to avoid what lobbyist Billy Moore calls a legislative "nuclear winter" that would certainly follow if the Senate does grind to a halt.

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I'm a little more skeptical than Cook that the two sides will be able to reach a deal to avery the nuclear option. Unless Frist were sure he did not have the votes -- which still might occur -- he has no vested interest in giving in to the Democrats (and indeed has much to lose if he allows a deal to occur). I do tend to agree with Cook on one issue, though: the meme that the Republicans' overreaching on DeLay, Schiavo and the judges could trump any legislative success in the future.