Samuel Alito as Eddie Haskell

I participated in a conference call on the Alito hearings last night with Ralph Neas of PFAW and Nancy Keenan of NARAL and Chris Bowers of MyDD and Armando from Kos (It wasn’t that I am so important; there were a few hundred other bloggers of significantly higher profile than yours truly). Much was cussed and discussed, but the gist of it was that we couldn’t decide if the Supreme Court justice nominee was a Robert Bork lover, or Bork reincarnated, or just a run-of-the-mill FReeper.

I have come to the conclusion that Samuel Alito is actually Eddie Haskell.

He’ll say anything to get what he wants, especially a job; he'll suck up to the boss like it’s going out of style, and he'll act innocent, pretend it never happened or deny it all when he’s caught (sucking up or lying, whichever it is).

A conflicted, insecure, ass-kissing nerd and total creep. Alito is the kind of guy who was afraid of having women at Princeton, a guy so misogynistic and intoxicated with authority that he ruled that a ten-year-old girl could be stripsearched without a warrant. The kinda guy on record as saying Bork was the greatest, a guy who says he’ll recuse himself from cases where he has a conflict of interest and then doesn’t, a guy who favors unlimited dictatorial powers for Bush -- a bitter, confused, misguided, frustrated failure who will have a chip on his shoulder and an axe to grind for the rest of his life if he gets on the Supreme Court.

"It's all about character" -- and as Digby's post above shows, Alito's character is a pile of steaming horseshit.

If there ever was a time for Democratic (and moderate Republican) Senators to stand up and speak up, it is now. Alito must be filibustered. The GOP is reeling right now, barely hanging onto the ropes from the repeated barrage of all their scandals and crimes. All their so-called "wins" are turning out to be losses, where they rigged the game and bribed the refs in order to make it look like they won. And it's all starting to crumble now. They're weak and on the run and they're making one last-ditch attempt to move their lackey into place for life.

Senators: you can stop Alito. If you filibuster and Congress shuts down, most Americans will support you. Rove is going to be indicted, Abramoff is going to sing like a canary, and six months from now half the Republicans in Washington could be in court or in jail.

Drag this confirmation out until the fall when we just might have a legitimate government again -- instead of this dictatorship of desperate delinquents.

You have the power. Use it.