Democrats make it nearly impossible to support them. I have never seen a party so miserably weak. They told us Alito would be the BIG fight. They had kept all their powder dry for this huge confrontation. We were told that they didn't fight on Gonzales, they didn't fight on Roberts, they made deals on the filibuster - all so they could fight when a hard core conservative was nominated to replace the more moderate O'Connor.
Apparently, they lied. As things stand now, the Democrats for the one thousandth time in a row will not fight. I don't know where to turn. There is a quiet rage building among our listeners. Will no one stand up for us?
Here are two paragraphs from the New York Times today:
"Speaking to reporters after the committee vote, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader, said that even if Judge Alito was confirmed, the strong Democratic opposition should send a message.
"I would hope it sends a message to the president that he should be more careful," Mr. Reid said. "I think it sends a message to the American people that this guy is not King George, he's President George.""
What is he talking about?! It sends the exact opposite message - don't worry about the cowardly Democrats, they'll huff and puff but you'll get your guys confirmed anyway.
A close vote? Who cares?!!!! That doesn't mean a damn thing. Blocking the nomination is what will send a message and get the job done. Anything else is just bullshit politics.
And very poor politics at that. This will be yet another club the Republicans can bludgeon the Democrats with. They voted against Alito but didn't even have the nerve to fight against him. They allowed the confirmation without a real effort and then pretended to be against it.
If the Democrats can't stand up for themselves, how do they expect the country to believe they can stand up for us?
Alito has already indicated he will run roughshod over the separation of powers in the Constitution. He believes the President has the "unitary executive" power to ignore the laws of Congress. He will not even agree that Roe is settled law. 56% of the country says they would oppose his nomination if they thought he would overturn Roe.
Right now, the country is completely unaware of Alito's radical views. If the Democrats don't make the case for it, they never will. Bring the conversation to the American people. Engage them, ask them if they want a justice like this making laws for all of us. You won't know unless you force a conversation like this with the use of a filibuster.
All the polls show that the American people are on the Democrats side on these issues. They don't want someone who is going overturn Roe or give the President unchecked powers. If with a majority of the people behind them and the President at his lowest approval ratings, the Democrats still can't muster up the courage for a fight, then the Republicans are right about the Democrats being too weak to protect us.