A number of circuits are having to pull judges from other circuits in order to decide cases ...
I can understand the dilemma over life-long appointments but for judges easily replaced in the future then I fail to see what the hold-up is about.
Magistrates, who operate only on the district court level (not in the appellate courts or supreme court), are not Article III judges. They're appointed by the actual Article III judges without input from the President or Senate, and they can handle cases only by the consent of both parties, and their rulings are appealable to an actual Article III district court judge.
Seeing very large numbers of cases has a tendency to change political and ideological views over times. The appointees they get are vetted in various ways to at least be qualified at the law, even if they have strong ideologies. Now, certainly, "true believers" aren't going to change, but ...
Plus, the federal judiciary doesn't pay well (relatively speaking), so unless they strongly care about deciding hundreds of random crappy cases, they often leave for greener pastures.
This may be temporary pleasing, but at some point the other party will be in power, with the net result that the judiciary will be filled judges of less moderation and more politics.