Republicans aren't going to filibuster the confirmation of Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense. They're just going to make Democrats put 60 votes on the board to close debate. Is there a difference? Well, sort of.
A filibuster, as Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post points out, depends on a credible threat. Republicans don't have one, since several Hagel opponents--McCain, Collins, and others--don't want to filibuster a Cabinet nominee on principle (Democrats will accuse them of going along with a filibuster on Hagel regardless).
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