Republicans knock off Rice; don't seem to understand karma.

Republicans don't know how to pick their battles at all.  They beat back Elizabeth Warren's appointment to the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, only to watch her take back the senate seat that they had won with Scott Brown.  Now they think that they've knocked off Susan Rice, when she asked to be taken out of consideration for Secretary of State in Obama's second term.

Big mistake.

For one, they have angered liberal Democrats. No one is counting on right-wing Republican Tea Party folks to support a compromise, but everyone is counting on liberal Democrats to go along with a compromise on the fiscal cliff.  If Republicans wanted to cut even just a little part of entitlement spending, they've lost liberal support for a compromise.  Going over the fiscal cliff is almost a guarantee, now, seeing that conservative Republicans have never had a desire to compromise, and now they've angered liberal Democrats.

Second, the same thing will be true on the debt ceiling issue.  Conservative Republicans will not vote for an increase, and so Boehner will need help from liberal Democrats.  This time, it'll be even harder to gain support from liberal Democrats.

Third, you don't knock down an intelligent, powerful woman, and expect her to stay down.  Much like Elizabeth Warren, she will come back, and she will come hard to haunt the pettiness of Republican politicians.  Imagine if she becomes a two-woman tandem Democratic presidential ticket, with Hillary Clinton  or Elizabeth Warren -- we're talking about a huge shattering of the glass ceiling in politics.  Rice will have the last laugh.  As it stands, the Russian UN Ambassador seemed to suggest that he would welcome her for another four years; she seems to be honestly well-liked outside of the Republican Party.

Fourth, McCain just painted a red target on his back for his petty attacks.  If he chooses to run for re-election in 2016, Democrats will find a woman candidate to challenge him -- maybe a triumphant return of Gabrielle Giffords?  With the changing demographics, Arizona will be competitive in four years, and McCain will be painted as out of touch unless he supports the Dream Act -- something he's flip-flopped on, many times.

Fifth, Senate Republicans have repeatedly shown why Democrats should push forward with filibuster reform, and the threat of blocking Susan Rice's appointment is the final straw.  They lost the presidential election, they lost seats in Congress, but they insist on blocking Democrats and President Obama.  Filibuster reform will happen, and it will be shoved down the throats of Republicans with a fat fist that is Harry Reid's gavel, for better or worse.