It won’t come as a shock to anyone that we don’t think much of Democratic elected officials. Sure there are exceptions, but not many. We watched closely as they bungled the politics of the 2000 Florida recount and continued to stand with the President long after it became clear that he was using 9/11 to enrich his supporters and expand his powers. We looked through crossed fingers at the Iraq war resolution debate where they proved themselves both unable to expose the obvious motives of the Republicans and incapable of using their support of the resolution to ward off Republican accusations of being “weak on terror.” Their losses in the 2002 Congressional elections only foreshadowed deeper losses in the 2004 elections including the failure to unseat George W. Bush, a President hampered by negative approval ratings just months before the vote. Time after time, they have misread the polls and opted for the path of least resistance. They have explained away their dismal record of opposing Presidential nominations (even in the cases of Alberto Gonzales and Condoleezza Rice, who lied to Congress about torture and pre-9/11 intelligence respectively) by claiming that they were “keeping their powder dry.”

Everything they have done since losing the White House has amounted to “if we don’t make any mistakes, Americans will eventually see the need for change.” The irony, of course, is that in itself has been a huge mistake; even as voters have turned away from Republicans, Democratic gains remain elusive. Rather than listening to members of their party, Democratic leaders have chosen to follow the advice of political hacks and journalists who have repeatedly counseled against firm opposition. By taking this misguided advice, they have ensured that no one, not even their party’s rank-and-file, has any idea what principles they will fight for.

This continued through the confirmation hearings for Samuel Alito, even though it is crystal clear that, should he be seated on the Supreme Court, critical rights from privacy to speech and beyond will be in grave danger. By letting Alito off the hook with non-answers and evasion, they placed themselves in position to do little more than wave as he takes his place alongside John Roberts, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas for the next 30 years.

As I mentioned on Friday, John Kerry plans to lead a filibuster against Alito’s nomination today. I’ve been predicting a filibuster for a little while now, but guessed that it would be lead by Barbara Boxer or Dick Durbin, so the fact that Kerry is running point is as surprising as his motivation is elusive. Now that the planned filibuster is public knowledge, the whos and whys take a backseat to its execution. The stakes have become incredibly high, and for once, the potential upside dwarfs the downside. The worst that can happen is exactly what would have happened in the absence of a filibuster. Since supposedly pro-choice Republican Senator Arlen Specter decided to sell out his mostly pro-choice constituents to avoid the wrath of James Dobson, and other pro-choice Republicans like Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, Lincoln Chafee and Ted Stevens have indicated support for Alito, the only choice for Democrats has been to lose on a party-line vote or gamble on a filibuster.

Whether or not Kerry’s filibuster is the result of a man desperate to regain the respect of his former supporters or a coordinated behind-the-scenes surprise attack is currently unknown. But by announcing his intentions so late in the game, Kerry took advantage of countless media items calling Alito’s confirmation a done deal. With significantly lowered expectations, a loss is just another loss, but should Kerry manage to round up the requisite 40 votes, his win would have far-reaching consequences.

Stopping Alito would send the message that Democrats are representing the overwhelming majority of Americans who don’t want to see Roe v. Wade overturned:

Rather than deferring to the vocal minority of extremists who like to give the impression that they speak for the country, Democrats have a singular opportunity to stand tall and fight on their convictions.

For once, the Democrats’ timing is working in their favor. Political mastermind Bill Frist has scheduled the final vote on Alito so close to the President’s State of the Union address that should the filibuster succeed, the President can say whatever he wants during his speech and none of it will matter. With his approval ratings pegged in the low 40s, the President simply can’t afford to be overshadowed at this critical juncture, even if he’s planning to use his speech as in previous years, with Mars trips, steroid use and fingerpainting assuming starring roles.

These short term wins would be welcome developments, and victories unto themselves. But the real payoff comes in the chance to change the thinking of Democratic elected officials. A successful filibuster would empower the downtrodden party and likely lead to similar stands on other issues, an absolute requirement if they are to regain power in November’s elections. If you want to see Democratic majorities in the House and Senate, you have nothing better to do today than to call your Democratic Senators and ask them to support Kerry’s filibuster and vote against Alito’s confirmation.

Only in rare cases do we ask our readers to contact their representatives in Congress because in most cases outcomes are decided long before a constituent call or email can do any good. This case looked to be another example of that until Senators previously opposed to a filibuster stopped ruling one out or even began voicing their support for Kerry.

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The following information was posted on Kos and I’m recycling here for our readers:

Senators indicating support for Kerry’s filibuster:

1. Barbara Boxer (D- CA)
2. Dianne Feinstein (D- CA)
3. Christopher J. Dodd (D- CT)
4. Richard J. Durbin (D- IL)
5. John F. Kerry (D- MA)
6. Edward M. Kennedy (D- MA)
7. Paul S. Sarbanes (D- MD)
8. Debbie A. Stabenow (D- MI)
9. Harry Reid (D- NV)
10. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D- NY)
11. Charles Schumer (D- NY)
12. Ron Wyden (D- OR)
13. Russell D. Feingold (D- WI)
14. Barack Obama (D-IL) (?)
15. Joseph R. Biden (D-DE)

Senators in need of persuasion:

Blanche Lambert Lincoln (D- AR), 202-224-4843
Joseph I. Lieberman (D- CT), 202-224-4041
Thomas R. Carper (D- DE), 202-224-2441
Daniel K. Inouye (D- HI), 202-224-3934
Tom Harkin (D- IA), 202-224-3254
Evan Bayh (D- IN), 202-224-5623
Barbara A. Mikulski (D- MD), 202-224-4654
Carl Levin (D- MI), 202-224-6221
Mark Dayton (D- MN), 202-224-3244
Max Baucus (D- MT), 202-224-2651
Frank Lautenberg (D- NJ), 202-224-3224
Jeff Bingaman (D- NM), 202-224-5521
Jack Reed (D- RI), 202-224-4642
Patrick J. Leahy (D- VT), 202-224-4242
Maria Cantwell (D- WA), 202-224-3441
Patty Murray (D- WA), 202-224-2621
Herb Kohl (D- WI), 202-224-5653
John D. Rockefeller, IV (D- WV), 202-224-6472
James M. Jeffords (I- VT), 202-224-5141
Robert Menendez (D-NJ), 202-224-4744
Bill Nelson (D- FL), 202-224-5274
Daniel K. Akaka (D- HI), 202-224-6361
Mary Landrieu (D- LA), 202-224-5824
Byron L. Dorgan (D- ND), 202-224-2551
Olympia Snowe (R- ME), 202-224-5344

Capitol Switchboard: 1-888-355-3588. All Senators can be reached through that number. Email addresses can be found here.

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Remember, you will likely be speaking with a very low level staffer in your Senator’s office, so be understanding and polite. If you are unsure of what to say, feel free to use the following text I wrote on Friday for a few readers who called then:

I’d like to encourage Senator XXXXXXX to support John Kerry’s filibuster by voting against cloture today. I was happy to hear that Senator XXXXXXXX indicated that he was going to vote against Judge Alito, but given the math in the Senate, I still feel that a woman’s right to choose is in grave peril. That right to choose is very important to me, and it is important that my Senators go the distance for that right. (Otherwise being pro-choice is all talk) Thank you for passing on my sentiment.

Durbin’s whip count last week had the total within three votes of the 40 needed. We can do this and get our party back in the game. Even if we don’t make it to 40, these Senators will see that their constituents are watching and demanding Democratic principles.

Take five minutes and make a call to your state’s Democratic Senators whether they are on board or not. Take five more and email this to friends and family urging them to speak up. These calls count, and the more the better. We’ve tried the way of deference and compromise, and all we have to show for it is shrinking representation. It’s time to stand up.

This is the most important thing you can do today, get it done.

*Update: **Lincoln Chafee (R-RI), (202) 224-2921

Chafee has decided to vote against Alito. If you are from Rhode Island, let him know that this is not enough. If he really wants to stop Alito, he must support Kerry’s filibuster.