As discouraging as it is that campaign finance reform got filibustered once again in the Senate last week, there is reason for hope. Bipartisan support is growing, a majority of 51 was reached. Evidence of corruption, abuse and influence-peddling mounts. And, perhaps best of all, opponents are down to scraping the bottom of the tactical and rhetorical barrel.

Seven Republicans bucked their party leadership and joined all 45 Democrats in supporting McCain-Feingold, and Mainers should be particularly proud of their two senators. Susan Collins was an early and staunch supporter of the measure. Olympia Snowe fought hard for her amendment that would put labor unions and corporations on a level playing field and that would require speedy disclosure of donors. Good for them.

On Thursday, probably by mere coincidence the same day reform stalled, the Justice Department announced it would seek indictments against Haley Barbour, former head of the Republican National Committee, for his allegedly illegal money-shuffling through an allegedly bogus tax exempt foundation. And on the same day, the Center for Public Integrity released a study showing a strong correlation between the $41 million the food industry contributed in recent years to key Congressional campaigns and the utter failure of Congress to even consider meaningful food-safety legislation.

But it is reform opponents who are constructing the very petard by which they will be hoisted. Majority Leader Trent Lott promised last fall a full and open debate on reform and a straight up-or-down vote. At crunch time, he made certain that didn’t happen through a convoluted series of parliamentary manuevers, looking all the while like a spoiled child who knows he’s being bad and knows nobody can do anything about it.

Then there was Sen. Slade Gorton of Washington, who attemted to grill Snowe on her amendment, apparently forgetting that complete sentences require both subject and verb. It is to Snowe’s credit that she was able to grasp the gist of Gorton’s tortured queries. It is even more to her credit that was able to restrain herself from throttling the guy.

Last, and least, is Kentucky’s Mitch McConnell, that champion of free speech who apparently believes one’s right to shout “fire” in crowded theater is directly related to the price one paid for admission. McCain-Feingold did not deserve to pass, he said, because a majority of 51 percent just didn’t cut it. Wouldn’t it be lovely if, come next election, Kentucky voters remind the senator just was 51 percent can do?

The bill’s authors swear they won’t give up. Russell Feingold, the Democrat, suggests it may yet pass this year. John McCain, Republican, is less optimistic about the short term, but says he’ll never give up. It will happen eventually, the only question is what it take to push it over the top — more indictments, a new outbreak of E. coli or a sense of shame.