To call last week's ScAlito hearings "Kabuki" is a grave insult to Traditional Japanese Theater.

But there were plenty of theatrics. The Dem's rehearsed, polite outrage. I wonder which of Lindsey "Huckleberry" Graham's lines was the cue for Mrs. Scalito to start the waterworks.

Despite the drama, the outcome was pre-determined. Everyone knows how a tragedy will end.

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Even though Democrats thought from the beginning that they had little hope of defeating the nomination, they were dismayed that a nominee with such clear conservative views - in particular a written record of opposition to abortion rights - appeared to be stirring little opposition.

So why all the drama? Who is it for? It's for you, the liberal activist. You are the only audience who watched the hours of testimony. Most of the Public will only see Martha-Ann's tears and hear that ScAlito's confirmation is a done deal.

The posturing and the really really tough questioning only serves as sugar coating for the bitter pill you they want you to swallow: the Democrats will do nothing concrete to stop ScAlito getting on the SCOTUS. They won't filibuster, and many will even vote for him.

The evenly divided Senate approved John Roberts 78-22; approved Alberto "Abu" Gonzalez 60-36-4; approved Condi 85-13-2.

And you, the Liberal Activist, are supposed to accept this and vote Democratic every chance you get. The Democrats feel your pain, they are outraged as well but, sigh, there's nothing they can do.

Actually, it's your fault for not being outraged enough:

"It may be a mistake to think that their failure demonstrates that they necessarily did something wrong," said Richard H. Fallon, a professor of constitutional law at Harvard Law School. Referring to one of the major Democratic complaints about Judge Alito's testimony, Mr. Fallon said: "As long as most of the public will settle for evasive or uninformative answers, maybe there was nothing that they could have done to get Alito to make a major error."

It's also your fault for not electing Democrats to power in the past:

"To stop a president on judicial nominations, you either need a Democratic president, a Democratic Senate or moderate Republicans who will break ranks when it's a conservative nominee," Mr. Schumer said. "We don't have any of those three. The only tool we have is the filibuster, which is a very difficult tool to use, and with only 45 Democrats, it's harder than it was last term."

The filibuster is [pained expression] com-pli-ca-ted. You can't expect US Senators to figure out how to use it, or for that matter to figure out how to not get "outmaneuvered" every single time by their Rethuglican counterparts.

Are they really that stupid, spineless and ineffectual?

I can't believe it. It has to be an act. Just more Political Theater.

Complete bumbling idiots do not rise to the highest elected offices in the most powerful nation on earth. They rise to power by making clever decisions that will advance their careers.

The reason Beltway Democrats refuse to take concrete action to stop Bush's abuse of power is because they don't want to and they don't have to.

It is not necessary for the Beltway Democrats to take a stand for progressive positions. Because, for the most part, Liberal Activists and Progressives will vote for them anyway. By default, and out of fear of further Republican dominance. [Although, I wonder, how much further can it go? What part of the US Goverment do they not own?]

It is necessary for Beltway Democrats to ensure their Corporate Campaign Contribution Stream flows freely in order to get re-elected. They must maintain a cordial relationship with Republicans so they can negotiate deals that are important to their Corporate Contributors. Also, getting trashed by the Corporate Owned Media could have a serious effect on re-election.

As long as Democratic Voters continue to accept the bittersweet shit biscuit their Elected Representatives keep feeding them, there is no incentive for Elected Representatives to take any risks on the Voters' behalf.

What if the Liberal Activists wrote their Congresscritters something like:

Unless you filibuster Samuel Alito I will not vote for you in the next election. I will vote for a more progressive Democratic challenger, a Third Party candidate or not at all.

Thanks,

Concerned Voter

Image: "Peony", from A Selection of Ten Flowers
(Tosei Rokkasen), 1854-58, by Hiroshige (flowers) and Kunisada (Kabuki Figures). From here.