Alito likely to be confirmed

"I think there may well be a strict party-line vote," Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told reporters.
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Confident Republicans and CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said a filibuster is unlikely.

"The point is the key to this was whether or not there was enough critical mass established during these hearings to trigger not only a filibuster but ... that so-called nuclear option," Toobin said, referring to a move to prohibit filibusters of judicial nominees.

"I'm pretty sure -- I could always call for one order of crow -- but I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen."

So, it's looking like most Democrats in the Senate are going to vote against this guy. If that's the case, why in the world would they not use the filibuster? I can only think of two reasons - either they don't have the votes for a filibuster, or they're just spineless dogs.

First possibility, enough Dems are voting yes that they don't have enough votes for a filibuster. If that's the case, what the hell is wrong with these people? Although these hearings do little to provide any real information(I blame the Senators themselves for much of that, since they ask the same type of questions over and over knowing they're not going to get an answer), it's clear to me that there's no reason to believe that Alito's changed his position on abortion, rights for workers and minorities, or presidential powers. If any Democrats believe that putting a man like this on the Supreme Court is a good thing, they should just go ahead and switch parties right now.

Second possibility, they have the votes to support a filibuster, but they're afraid to rock the boat and possibly invoke the so-called nuclear option. In this case they're just gutless cowards, more afraid of looking too partisan than in doing what's right. As John has said, there's no reason to be afraid of Republican threats, if you're afraid to use it on vitally important issues, then the filibuster is useless. And what's more important than the appointment of a Supreme Court Justice? Do the right thing and let the Republicans do whatever they're going to do. They won't be the majority party forever.

The bottom line for me is it's clear that Alito trusts authority, whether it's the executive branch, or large corporations, and he's willing to err on their side. He's shown this in his previous rulings and legal papers. I think there's an idea among Democrats that it's more difficult to justify denying him the position because he's obviously qualified technically to do the job. He's certainly no Harriet Myers. But it's wrong to think that because he's got the resume that you have to rubber stamp his nomination. The responsibility of the Senate is to consent. To my mind that doesn't mean a 51-49 ramming down our throat of a right-wing judge. It implies consensus, as much as possible. There have been plenty of nominees from both parties who have been able to gain consensus. Look at Sandra Day O'Connor, the woman he's replacing. She was confirmed 99-0, and is generally considered a centrist. For the Democrats to cave on this nomination and vote yes or avoid the filibuster is an abdication of their constitutional responsibility.