The Democratic Party isn't dead. Kerry gave it the jolt it needed.

So a few leaders screwed up (IMO), work to elect new leaders. The base did a bang-up job over the last week. The Democratic base is alive and well. The Democratic Party is the base.

I believe the party will become stronger after this wake-up call.

What "wake-up call" are you referring to?

Kerry, as a senator from a very safe blue state, had nothing to lose.

Other senators did. The Alito fight could not be won...why jeopardize a Dem senator's chances in a red state by fighting an unwinnable battle?

We don't have the power...we need to regain the power. The only way that will happen is to elect more Democrats in 06'.

Kerry's move may have helped Kerry, and I don't begrudge him that. But it did not help the Democratic Party in any way.

the Democratic base that the media continues to try to ignore. The Republican Party is still mired in scandal and the Democratic Party will regroup and regain strength in numbers in both the House and Senate.

except among us, and we're just a buncha moveon.org loving, Michael Moore following, leftie wackos, doncha know.

The Democrats reportedly cringed, and the Republicans laughed, and the press raked him over the coals. Some said that since there was no chance of a fillibuster, that standing up was safe and showed that Kerry was just playing politics. So if he knew he had all the votes for the fillibuster, and stood up, that, conversely, would have been brave? Or doing nothing would have been better?

I just don't get people's logic sometimes.

and i completely agree with you. alito was NOT a fight we could win. red state dems had a good reason to fear this.

But the brain is dead. The people at the top don't give much of a shit what the base thinks. Save for a few of them, they really only care about themselves.

Kerry did a fantastic job in the Alito hearings. It is too bad that most of the other Dems did not have the spine that he showed.

Kerry should be our man in 2008.

He's not on the Judiciary team is he? I saw most of it and don't remember him there.

even if you stand alone or you can't possibly stop the inevitable. This is what Kerry did and he was heroic. Sometimes success comes in tiny incremental steps and we are unable to see the possibilities until we are very near our goal. How's that for a cliche-infested post?

Where were the wall-to-wall TV ads by Moveon and NARAL and other organizations last weekend supporting the filibuster? Where were the Unions? Where were the people on the streets demanding Democrats stand up? Where was the outrage other than on message boards? The odds in holding a filibuster would have been difficult, but the what real effort was there? Blame all the DINOs you want, but they had no need to cave into pressure that really wasn't pressure. Instead of putting the pressure on the swing Repugnicans, the focus is now on bloodletting within the Democratic party.

It's a shame since this wasn't some hidden ball trick...there was plenty of time to launch a real offensive. We knew the corporate media would minimalize the committee Democrats and turn this into a popularity contest, and that's exactly what happened.

IMHO, the base failed again. Senator Kerry's efforts were again valiant, but not enough to generate a popular uproar that would have put more pressure on those who might have voted for extended debate. Again, people here fail to realize how far in a hole the Democratic party has gotten itself in...(except for some who are ready to jump ship...things aren't moving fast enough). This place has the same feel today as it did the day after the elections...and maybe this time it's a good thing. Maybe it'll be a wake-up call about how much work has to be done.

Peace...