Thomas was essentially voted not qualified by the ABA. Thomas quite likely sexually harassed Anita Hill and lied about it. Thomas moved the court radically, radically rightward (he replaced Thurgood Marshall, for God's sakes.) Thomas is an ideologue who has pre-determined decisions on every case and is as close to a rubber stamp as the other side can get. Thomas is the worst of Scalia, without the intellect. I bet we can all agree on this. And still, Thomas made it through, with 11 Democratic votes, in a Democrat-controlled Senate.
I am a proud Democrat. I've held elected office as a Democrat. I am also a proud liberal. I agree with just about everything I read on this board, and devour it daily. I know you all get mad at me (hi Armando!) for being anti-filibuster, and for seemingly harping on this single topic. But I have never, ever been so jaw-dropped, flat-out disgusted with the Democratic party as I have over this Alito nomination. Voting against Alito in a party-line fashion is the most myopic, self-destructive, future-destroying decision the Democratic party has made in decades. More so than giving Bush war powers, more so than nominating Kerry, more so than anything I can recall. It will assure the impossibility of a liberal nominee ever getting through again, ever, ever, ever. And if we actually attempt a filibuster -- a
filibuster of a crazily experienced judge with a unanimous highest possible ABA rating who everyone who's ever worked with (including libs) says is flawless -- then, I think that's pretty much the end of the Democratic party as I've known it.
It's not about whether I "want" Alito on the court -- of course I don't. But my desire to have liberal justices replace the next few retirees far exceeds my desire to see Alito go down. And since it's mathematically impossible for the Republicans to ever drop below 40 seats (and are likely to retain 50 for quite some time, barring some monumental population shift), we can be assured that our decisions today will come back to haunt us in four years, with (please God) a Democratic president overseeing the retirements of Ginsburg and Stevens. We need to see more than one chess move ahead, damnit, and who the hell cares if we win a battle if it costs us the war?
I know everyone here means well, and is passionate (as am I) about the future of this country (and therefore the world.) I even know some of you personally, and have had heated coffees and beers over this issue. And you know I've more coherently argued my position on this (and Roberts) in other diary entries (I'm too angry right now to be particularly poetic.) But I urge, implore, beg you to think about what a party-line vote on Alito (or the far more destructive filibuster option) will mean to our interests, our ideals, in four years, or six, or eight, or ten. Alito himself is not the Worst Case Scenario, no matter what "sky is falling!" hyperbole we might speak amongst ourselves in private. The Republicans see the big picture here in a way our Democratic leadership does not, and as long as we keep acting like arrogant, sore-loser, short-sighted, whiny little kids... well, we frankly deserve to keep getting spanked.