1. Abe Fortas had already been confirmed as a Supreme Court Justice.
2. The filibuster dealt with his elevation to be Chief Justice.
3. It was bi-partisan (24 Republicans and 19 Democrats joined in).
4. It was the result of an ethical scandal taking place while he sat on the U.S. Supreme Court. (not just because some radicals in the minority party wanted to thwart the Constitutional process)
5. It was not aimed to derail a final vote. It was to enable further information to be elicited since the scandal was unfolding.

Fortas ultimately resigned from the court under public pressure and congressional scrutiny, including a threat of impeachment. He was the first justice to do so.

Today’s threatened filibuster is simply a tactic being used by a party who is upset about being out of power. Nothing more. Sure, you’ll hear the Democrats talk about Alito’s desire to take us back to slave days, his goal to require women to wear burkas, his passion for killing baby seals and his aim at legalizing puppy-kicking…

If Alito is such a horrible choice, you can bet constituents will inform their respective representatives and those representatives should have the opportunity to vote for or against his confirmation.

You know, like those guys, whose faces are on our money, designed the system to work.

(Cross-posted at GOPBloggers)