The daily stories on the AP wire are thick with the certainty, the inevitability of the confirmation of Radical Judicial Activist Samuel Alito.  The possibility of a filibuster, if mentioned at all, is either hidden at the bottom or dismissed with a quick, "it is clear that the Democrats don't have the stomach for that."  My tendency as I've read these stories is to sigh, shake my head, and chalk up yet another instance of the SCLM parroting Republican propaganda points, Republican truthiness.

A filibuster is still possible, given the adamant opposition of many good Senate Democrats to Alito.  Most have not ruled it out.  But there are indications that at least a few Democrats, if not a whole bunch of them, are going to vote "No" on Alito but will not support a filibuster.  To which I want to say, just to be clear:

Voting "No" on Alito but "Yes" on cloture is the same as voting "Yes" on Alito.  No matter what they say.  No matter how many speeches they give.  When a filibuster is your only option to stopping the nomination, and you know that, then you must support a filibuster -- unless you just don't care.

(Some may recall that Lieberman did exactly this on the bankruptcy bill -- that is, he voted for closure and against the bill, when it was more than clear that a filibuster was the only way to stop it.)