Digby has a great post on cynicism among Democrats who are tired of losing. And Kos has a great post reminding us of just how hard, almost possible, it is for Democratic leaders like Kerry to muster and sustain a filibuster. Remember that 9 of the Dems in our caucus have, by the grace of God, been elected by populations in Red states that are now solidly fascist. So if the filibuster is on, good. And if it doesn't last, well, that's good, too. That is to say, it's better than not having had the filibuster. (It will never be good that the mafia hitman Samuel "I like to kill" Alito is on the Supreme Court.) Anyway, here's Digby:

"John Kerry stepped up today. Apparently, that isn't enough for some. He is still a 'loser' in their eyes and is to be shunned. He didn't do it soon enough. Or he didn't do it right. Or he is nothing but a political opportunist. I'm beginning to think that some Democrats have gotten attached to their vision of Democrats as losers so they won't be emotionally shattered anymore. That's understandable. It's painful to get beaten. But, the rank and file need to step up too and be willing to lose and not hate ourselves or our leaders for it. How we lose on issues like this makes the difference for the future.

Sustaining a filibuster of a Supreme Court nominee is a huge undertaking with the numbers we have. (Read Kos' Reality Check on this.) It's worth doing anyway because it's important to stand up for principles. We can 'lose well' by beginning to make a case to the American people that we believe in something other than splitting the difference. And we might just pull it off. Either way, we make the country (and the media) see that there are lines that we won't cross."