The Senate is in the midst of a 30 hour marathon session to try to break the impasse over judicial nominees. Good luck. The Republicans want an up or down vote, but the Democrats are filibustering several controversial (read conservative) nominees. So is there any way to break the deadlock? One suggestion from Stephen Bainbridge offers a comparison between the situation in the Senate and a game of chicken. Both parties are set in motion towards a head-on collision unless one of them swerves first, achieving self-preservation but losing the power struggle. Such an analogy requires that a terminal outcome may eventually be achieved and that the two parties choose their strategies simultaneously. Probably not the case as it stands right now in the Senate. Short of a move by the Republicans to change the Senate rules to prevent this kind of filibuster (which some have called “going nuclear”), I don’t see any other way. Ultimately, the Republicans have to realize that the Democrats have something they want, and they will only be able to get what they want if they give the Democrats something else or take something as hostage. In the short term, I don’t see any resolution.