Flim-Flam..ibuster

A few comments on this sham attempt by the Democrats to feign a legitimate filibuster.

The honest truth is every Senator has known for weeks that there simply weren't enough votes to sustain a filibuster of Judge Alito's confirmation vote, not even close to enough. My tally indicates that by the time all is said and done the vote for cloture will be somewhere between 64-70 votes.

So why the overly dramatic show of false bravado you ask. Simple, these Senators that are pushing a filibuster promised the hard left special interest groups that they would fight tooth and nail to keep anyone adverse to their interests off the court. They cannot afford to alienate these groups primarily because they provide a large portion of their $$$$ support, support they positively can't do without. Aside from the money, these groups tend to be the most active in grassroots GOTV efforts. So knowing full well that any filibuster attempt is doomed from the start, these Senators perform this well choreographed tap dance for the benefit of whatever portion of their constituency gullible enough to buy into it.

The Democrats however, are being forced to walk the tightrope because they must satisfy the moonbats without doing significant damage to their support from swing voters and the "moderate left. That is why primarily only Senators with safe seats in blue states are participating in the production. Look at the players.....

Kennedy
Kerry
Sarbanes (retiring)
Feinstein
Dodd
Durbin
Clinton
Boxer
Schumer etc.

Compare with the Democrat Senators opposing a filibuster.....

Byrd
Nelson
Landrieu
Pryor
Salazar
Dorgan
Lieberman
Conrad

This is a classic example of an attempt by Democrats to have their cake and eat it too. The leadership hopes this strategy will not seriously hurt any individual Senator and will potentially mollify the base, it does carry the potential danger of diminishing their overall party appeal on the national front. The calculation is that by the time 2008 rolls around all will be forgotten.

The left has taken it on the chin from the very start of this confirmation process. The hearings were a disaster. On the whole they came across as bullies and mean spirited (been awhile since you heard that term right?) and this isn't helping matters one bit. The best they can do at this point is try and minimize the damage.

Additional insights:

Cailifornia Conservative