Dadahead’s been doing a good job staying on top of Strip Search Sammy’s SCOTUS nomination, which I appreciate. Today he writes:

Fate has blessed the Democrats with a remarkable convergence of stories, with the Alito confirmation hearings about to follow on the heels of the revelations about Bush’s domestic spying scandal, if they choose to take advantage of it. Alito’s Achilles’ heel is civil liberties, and the spying scandal has put that issue on the front burner. Bush obviously cannot be trusted to respect the privacy and freedom of American citizens, and neither can Alito. So opposition to Alito can be woven into a more general narrative about the Bush administration’s power-hungry tactics, and the fact that now, more than ever, we need to make sure that we have leaders who respect the idea of checks and balances, and of limits on state power.

35% is ridiculously low for a Supreme Court nominee, and it’s getting close to the point where GOP senators from purple or blue states could start feeling pressure not to confirm him, if our side can manage to make an issue out of each senator’s vote. If the Dems in the Senate can just remember that acting in accordance with the wishes of the vast majority of the public is usually not tantamount to political suicide, we just might have a chance of blocking Alito. Are Lincoln Chafee, Olympia Snowe, et al. really prepared to go ‘nuclear’ over Sam Alito?

It would be a good time to let your senator know how you feel about the prospect of Alito getting confirmed. Especially if you have one facing a tough re-election. Defeating Alito will take a focused effort, but I don’t see why it can’t be done.