US: The doomsday clock was set ticking at 9.47am in the US Senate yesterday when Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee rose to propose a vote on President George Bush's nomination of Texas judge Priscilla Owen to the federal appeals court.
This is certain to be filibustered by the Democratic minority, in which case Dr Frist has said he will call for a vote to abolish the 214-year-old right to filibuster which allows a minority to "talk-out" and defeat a nomination.
The clock could tick for several days and it could be stopped at times, as senators scramble to avoid what has been called the "nuclear option" because of its potential to bring about what one legislator called the "mutually assured destruction" of the senate's business.
There was little sign of compromise yesterday as Dr Frist started the debate and Democrats reacted by forcing the suspension of all committee hearings and launched into a series of angry speeches on the floor, with some apocalyptic talk about the end of the republic.
Several senators drew on history to make their case, more than one citing Benjamin Franklin's oft-quoted comparison of the Senate to a saucer, into which one could pour hot coffee to cool it down; in other words to moderate the extremes of a president.
Democratic Senator Pat Leahy recalled a warning by another US president, James Madison, that putting all power into one hand was the definition of tyranny and claimed that "we fought a revolution in this country to have a senate with checks and balances".
At issue is Mr Bush's ability to elevate all judges whom he chooses to the federal bench over the objection of minority Democrats. However the fight has much wider implications for the upper chamber of Congress.
The elimination of the filibuster tactic would "change the senate forever," according to Minority Leader Harry Reid in an impassioned speech.
Judge Owen is one of 10 judges whose nominations the Democrats blocked in Mr Bush's first term, arguing that they were "outside the judicial mainstream", a coded phrase meaning opposed to abortion rights.
Dr Frist said in resubmitting the nomination of Judge Owen that he was acting on principle - the principle that the president's nominees deserved a straight up-or-down vote, something he claimed had never been denied to a judicial nominee in 214 years.
"The Republican minority did not deny Bill Clinton's nominees," he said, but now the Democratic minority was threatening to thwart the president's constitutional duty to appoint judges.
"Either confirm or reject them but don't leave them hanging," he said, adding that it was wrong to try "to kill, to defeat, to assassinate" Mr Bush's nominees (a choice of words that drew strong Democratic criticism throughout the day).
Mr Reid accused Dr Frist of being "untruthful", retorting that 69 of Bill Clinton's nominees had not even been given a hearing when the Republicans had a majority in the senate and that "if you keep telling falsehoods people will start believing them."
"The filibuster is part of the fabric of the senate and has been used hundreds of times," he went on, and the Bush administration was guilty of an "arrogance of power" in trying to get rid of a device that "encouraged moderation and consensus and was critical in keeping the majority in check".
While critical of Democrats for opposing the nominations, Republican Senator Arlen Specter warned against the "mad" act of "mutually assured destruction" of senate business - and of the president's legislative agenda.
One of a group of up to 10 Republicans unhappy with a rule change, Mr Specter said that neither side was certain of victory and he hoped that that might encourage a compromise. He too cited Benjamin Franklin, recalling his warning that the fate of the republic depended on the wisdom of its leaders.
A vacancy could arise in the nine-member Supreme Court in the coming months, he predicted, and if Mr Bush's nominee was filibustered, there would be gridlock in the court.
The prospect of a conservative judge being nominated to the Supreme Court is at the heart of the crisis, as this could tip the balance further to the right in America's highest court and influence the interpretation of the constitution for decades to come.
Senator Leahy accused the administration of a "power grab", saying: "None of us own the senate and it is our responsibility to leave the senate as we found it."
Referring to what he said was the introduction of religion into the debate by Dr Frist, who took part in an evangelist telecast last month urging an end to the filibuster, he warned that "all Americans should fear this" as it was "religious McCarthyism" and "contemptible".
In the heat of the constitutional debate, the merits of Judge Owen's credentials were mentioned almost in passing.
The critical vote on the debate is not expected until sometime next week. Meanwhile, Democrats have said they will block all committee hearings, which require the agreement of all 100 senators to take place.