Today's vote to confirm Hayden seems like a Profile in Courage moment that Democratic Senators failed miserably. Only 15 Democrats could muster the integrity to cast a vote to uphold the rule of law.
This illustrates the failure of targeting a key race here and there in order to gain control of a chamber or to significantly change the political landscape. The Democratic Party is gone. Thirty-nine Democratic Senators don't deserve their seats. The enormity of the problem suggest we need to start from scratch with a new political party.
Even if the Democrats gain a chamber or even two in November, what would we have gained? Sure we can moderate the next Supreme Court nominee (how many Democrats voted for Roberts and Alito?)and we can win some concessions on policy but the current Congress is overwhelming on the side of Republican policies and prisoners of the "war on terror" and part of the fear campaign that is being used to weaken our civil liberties. I can't vote for Feinstein and resent that as the only choice to put Democrats in charge. We need a new party.