Well, hell

That went over like a lead balloon. Before the vote it looked like there were 30-plus Dems who were going to vote against cloture. In the end, after all the votes were cast, eyed, and shifted about, 18 Dems caved and voted for cloture.

Some say they're cowards. Others say they take their base for granted. I see it as a loss of perspective. The Alito 18 worried that they would appear obstructionist so they allowed a vote on a man who has made it a decades-long project to obstruct women's rights. They feared for the collegiality of the Senate as if the chumminess of 100 powerful, rich people is more important than the lives and liberties of hundreds of millions of Americans. The Alito 18 seem to think their jobs are about themselves rather than the rest of us.

I can't write more on this right now without lapsing into profanity. Let Amanda bring the blame:

First off, I blame any so-called Democrat who voted for cloture. And I blame the Republicans for cynically exploiting the Christian right and selling out their party to a bunch of rabid misogynists who act like they'’re acting in Jesus'’ name. And, for good measure, I blame Diebold.

I don'’t really blame the fundies. They'’re relatively upfront about their belief that government'’s main function is to be a boot on the neck of uppity women and gays, and they voted for the man they thought would deliver. No, the people I blame are the other Republicans--–the people who waved the flag non-stop after 9/11, who got all maudlin when talking about "“supporting the troops"” and "“freedom isn'’t free," and especially the ones who dare call themselves "“libertarians"”. I blame war supporters who put on this tough posture and talked about the importance of democracy in Iraq. I blame all these people who claim to be tough, who claim to love freedom and then turned out in droves to vote for a man who they knew would roll back freedom.

Good night and good luck.