A new Washington Post/ABC poll shows that most Americans oppose changing Senate rules to make it easier to confirm judicial nominees, and it’s not even close. 66% are opposed to it, while 26% are for it. According to The Hill’s Alexander Bolton, the Republicans’ internal polling is showing the same thing and that is why many are backing away from the so-called “nuclear option”:

Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), a leading advocate of the “nuclear option” to end the Democrats’ filibuster of judicial nominees, is privately arguing for a delay in the face of adverse internal party polls.

Details of the polling numbers remain under wraps, but Santorum and other Senate sources concede that, while a majority of Americans oppose the filibuster, the figures show that most also accept the Democratic message that Republicans are trying to destroy the tradition of debate in the Senate.

The Republicans are keeping the “nuclear” poll numbers secret, whereas they have often in the past been keen to release internal survey results that favor the party. David Winston, head of the Winston Group, which conducts Senate GOP polls, did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Confirming public disquiet over the “nuclear” or “constitutional” option, Santorum said, “Our polling shows that.”

Despite the huge push from the right on this, the public isn’t buying it. So much for that “will of the people” thing we so often hear from them.