There was a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth yesterday regarding the nomination of alito and the failure to vote against cloture. And please don't get me wrong, Alito was a bad choice from almost every perspective but a far right one. But I think there needs to be a little perspective which is sorely lacking.
First of all, let's look at the makeup of the SCOTUS. There are 9 justices. Bush has appointed two of them. That makes 7 justices who are not appointed by Bush, two of which are reliably ultra-conservative (and one of which, from what I understand, tends to be something of a maverick). Now, I'm not going to say that this is a good situation, no doubt it isn't, but it is not the end of the world.
Bush is going to be President for only three more years. There is no way short of taking dictatorial powers for himself or repealing a constitutional amendment that he is going to be able to get around that. The chances of him having to nominate another supreme court justice are getting lower each day that gets closer to Jan. 20, 2009. The damage he can do from now on is limited - what happened yesterday is probably the worst of it as far as the court is concerned. Now, I can't see the future, but that is the likely outcome. And if we can get a majority in office that is not allied with BushCo this year, the damage potential drops like elephant dung coming out of a neo-con.
Now, the chances of another Justice or two dying or retiring in the four years after that are fairly high.
Essentially, we're in for a few years of a court that leans a bit further to the right than we're used to, and then it can be set straight again. Alito will influence the court for many years, but the fact that he is on the court does not mean that the court will now be a bastien of right wing politics for thirty years.
So, we lost the battle yesterday (And yes, I say we, even though I am not a Democrat. We're all in this together, I keep saying!). We lost the battle, we suffered a setback in the war, but the war is not lost, and it will never be lost as long as we have a constitution and citizens who respect and defend that constitution. Not "defend the constitution" with weapons and armies, but with words, deeds, and voting at the ballot box.
We haven't lost. Not yet. But we will lose if people decide "Oh, Alito's on the SCOTUS, woe is me, we're all doomed!" We're not. We're only doomed if we don't put our money where our mouths are, make sure there are principled politicians to vote for and vote for them. Get your asses in gear, I know I will mine. If you don't, then the war will be lost - and you only have yourself to blame.
Essentially, we lost, take a bit to grieve if you must, but get over it and start fighting again if you want to win in the long run.
I may be a libertarian, but we share common goals - and one of them is to make sure that this country is safe for our liberties for years to come. I'll stand with you on that goal any day of the week.
Don't forget, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself". I saw a lot of very scared diaries yesterday. That's not going to win. Winning is conquering that fear, moving ahead, and getting it done where the rubber meets the road.
In closing, I want to tell you all a story. I was still a right wing extremist when Clinton was first elected in, what was it, 1992? You know what I thought? I was scared - I was scared that because Clinton was elected, God was going to start the tribulation (or rapture, if you will). It was an irrational fear - Clinton turned out to be one of the best presidents in my life. Fears are not always founded, and even if they are, the Wheel of Time weaves its web, and we are all part of the Pattern. :-)
Damn. I need to learn some new cliches.