Why the Democrats Should Filibuster Alito

The Democrats must filibuster the appointment of Sam Alito to the Supreme Court. Here's why:

1.  If they do not, they are telling the country that they support an imperial executive.
2.  If they do not, they are telling the country that they think that women are not full people with rights to control over our own bodies.
3.  If they do not, they are telling the country that the concerns of businesses are more important than the concerns of workers.
4.  If they do not, they are telling the country that they are not an opposition party.
5.  If they do not, they are telling the country that they are utterly useless, completely unrepresentative, and have no justification at all for continuing to exist as a political entity.

Comments

[Alain]

Jodi I agree with your sentiment. And I do not normally make apologies for the democrats, but in this case don't you think they are in a difficult position - they have largely failed to paint Alito as the extremist he most certainly is and are largely seen in the media as going out of their way to give a "nice guy" a hard time. They spent too much time on his personal issues (Vangard investments and the racist Princeton Alumni club) and failed to get him to reveal much of his judicial philosophy. And clearly he was tutored in the double speak of the right wing zealotocracy - painfully stressing his respect for precedent, the rule of law, etc... So without having made the case to the American people, if the democrats attempt a filibuster they will definitely be seen as obstructionist and may loose even bigger in the fall.

Ofcourse, I am not really sure - just completely frustrated.

[Lynn]

It would be a pleasant surprise if they did filibuster. It would be a pleasant surprise if they laid the groundwork to impeach President Bush. I won't hold my breath.

They are unrepresentative of the broad interests they claim to represent.

[Jodi]

Alain,
The Republicans play to their base. The Democrats don't (unless we think of their base as those in the same economic bracket as Kerry and Edwards). The base knows that Alito is a to the far right of even most conservative judges. That they blew it in the hearings--and we only think that if we begin from the perspective of the right, positing a right wing media perspective etc--is no excuse for further defeatism. I'll put it differently, they need to think from the standpoint of opposition; from this perspective they have to keep fighting. Not fighting confirms that they are weak willed losers.