Let’s face it. Absent some extraordinary revelation, John Roberts is going to be on the Supreme Court. So, at the very least, can we chill out on all the filibuster talk at least until the hearings start? As Salon explains, the Dems don’t have the numbers to stop him :

No one is throwing in the towel just yet, but even hardcore progressive activists must be finding it hard to hold out hope that they can derail George W. Bush’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court.

It’s all about the math. The Republicans hold 55 seats in the Senate. Assuming that we don’t learn about some tawdry elements in John Roberts’ past — and probably even if we do — we can guarantee you that every last one of those Republicans will vote in favor of Roberts’ nomination. That’s more than enough votes to provide Roberts the simple majority he needs for confirmation.

Yes, the Democrats could conceivably try to filibuster the nomination, and if at least 40 of them stuck together, they could keep Roberts’ nomination from coming to the Senate floor for a vote. But if the Democrats were to go down that road, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist would almost certainly begin dusting off the nuclear option, and it’s pretty clear that there won’t be enough renegade Republicans this time around to stop him.

And more depressingly, as Ezra put it, we probably had this one coming.

Liberals need to be careful how they play this one. I’ve heard a fair number of folks demanding that Democrats force the nuclear option, and that any who don’t should be disowned by the party’s base. At this point, that’s idiotic.

As we begin this battle, a few facts should be kept in mind. First and foremost, President Bush will nominate and the Senate will confirm a conservative judge. As McCain says, elections have consequences, and this is one of them. If we somehow shut down the Senate and force Bush to pick a different candidate, the replacement will also be conservative. There is no possible outcome where Roberts is replaced by a liberal, or even a moderate. Without a majority, we’re just not going to get an agreeable judge.

So the question, on Roberts, is how to lose. One way or the other, we will lose, all that matters is how we look while we flame out. And the first rule there is that we shouldn’t look like a bunch of rabid ideologues begging for a battle. We should want to confirm this judge. We should. We should hope Bush has nominated someone easily confirmable, who will spend the next few decades blessing the Court with enlightened jurisprudence. If and when facts come out that say otherwise, we should reluctantly, sadly admit them into the analysis. And when the vote finally comes due, after his opinions are well known and our thoughts on those opinions are widely broadcast, we should vote no and lose well.

As conservatives are apt to say, if Democrats are so upset about this, they should try winning a few elections for a change. If Roberts turns out to be the hard-right ideologue we’re all hoping he isn’t, the Democrats shouldn’t once again reward the American public’s short-term memory by politely ignoring facts that make their opponents look bad.

Pay attention America. John Roberts is the man who you chose to be on the Supreme Court by virtue of your votes for George Bush. If you disagree with him on abortion, affirmative action, civil liberties, or any other issues, it’s your own goddamned fault for spending more time wondering about whether John Kerry threw his medals or ribbons than who would be the person making the next 2-4 lifetime appointments to the Supreme Court.