In 2013 the Democratic Senate used the " nuclear option" to change the rules to remove the ability of Republicans to continue their filibusters over Obama administration executive and lower court appointments.  The Republicans screamed loudly about that.  

Back then The New York Times wrote an editorial under the headline : "Democracy Returns to the Senate" Interestingly, while the rule change at the time left the ability to filibuster regarding Supreme Court nominees in place, the Times clearly understood that the nuclear option's use would likely open the door for its use regarding the highest court of the land. The editorial stated :  “But now that the Senate has begun to tear down undemocratic procedures, the precedent set on Thursday will increase the pressure to end those filibusters, too.”

well, so what the NYT predicted came true...democracy returned to the Senate, just not the type of democracy that each half of the nation wants, which is democracy when it suits them