Reply #96: I don't think we have enough votes to prevent confirmation.

[gkhouston]

I think the Dems should filibuster even if they feel it's a lost cause, simply because Alito is such a spectacularly bad nominee. If the Dems won't filibuster, which to my mind is a way of standing up and saying, "Hell, NO! This guy stinks to the high heavens and you know it!", I do think they'll lose some support. Yeah, they'll still get the big contributions from businesses, but individual contributions may go down and they may have a harder time finding volunteers for their campaigns. Or they might just find their butts on the street.

And I'm pretty sure we're gonna need a meeting of the DUDQ next week. :-)