It all boils down to the fact that the Supreme Court will remain in conservative hands for the next 20-30 years. The Scalia 5 will undo any reform we manage to pass, if we ever manage to pass it. Even if we retain the White House, we will never be allowed to appoint anything vaguely resembling a "liberal" justice to the court.
Conservatives are going to dismantle this country one decision at a time. Abortion will soon be functionally illegal, and marriage equality will be next in the crosshairs. I know plenty of people who believe Kennedy is a cinch vote on gay rights, but Kennedy has let us down MANY times in the past and it's a coin flip as to whether he will vote to let states decide on marriage equality issues.
The Scalia 5 should have been impeached for Bush v. Gore (staunch Nixon defender and Manson prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi made a great case for it, but the spineless Dems refuse to fight, or simply collaborate.