Judicial Nominations, Prescription drug/ Energy bills, Trojan horses?

[never cry wolf]

Allrighty then. This is not my first thread but maybe my first semi-essay to start a post, please be gentle with me.

After listening to a good chunk of the 39 hour marathon debate on judicial nominees, extended sessions on the very partisan energy and prescription drug bills a thought has occurred to me. Have all of these issues been brought to the fore by the repukes as dire, crucial, have to do NOW issues in order to deflect the media, congress and public attention away from the issues that really would be most damaging to gee-duh-bya??

Issues such as the continuing deaths and injuries in Iraq, the failure to involve the world community, the Plame outing, the continuing failure to find WMDS, the continuing failure to find Osama or Sadaam, the dissent of the IGC....etc, etc. In addition, shrub bashing is more "in vogue" than at any time since 9-11 what with the dem candidates doing their thing and the media maybe waking up a wee bit.

I realize that in Rove's view he is trying to bolster shrub and rebugs in general on domestic issues. Not that these are good bills or nominees but he can and will play to the hilt that the Dems are obstructionist, don't want seniors to have drug benefits or the nation an energy policy, and if they do pass he can claim georgie as the champion for the poor and downtrodden seniors in the face of those mean dems.

I have no doubt that pure politics is the overall inspiration but I am more wondering about the timing of it all. These are fairly radical right wing nominees and bills (with a good chance to get blocked in the senatedue to their radicalness), have they been put so prominently front and center to act as a shield for more sensitive issues?