So the Republicons have 55 votes in the Senate, and barring the discovery of naked 8-year-old blonde slave boys in his closet there's no way the Dems are going to be able to scuttle the Alito nomination. Let's swallow our medicine and accept the inevitable - Alito is going to the Supreme Court in January. No way out.

But maybe there is! Here's the scenario: The Dems win back the House in 2006. The Senate is out of reach, so the Dems just pick up a couple of seats there, reaching 49 or 50 (leaving the Cons in the majority with their vote from Cheney). Without the Senate, the Dems can't be held accountable for the legislation that is so badly needed to raise revenues somewhere to pay for the Bush binge - the Cons will have to raise taxes, and Dubya will have to sign the hike. Meanwhile, the Dems in the House use their subpoena power to investigate all the horrid scandals of the past 6 years. Half of the administration and all the Cons who have sold their souls to Jack Abramoff et al end up in the slammer. 2008 is a rout. The Dems get a huge majority in the House and the Senate, and of course the White House.

See where this dream is headed? Alito is impeached. Scalia is impeached. Thomas is sent packing. We clean house with the lower courts, getting rid of the most egregious 20% of Bush appointees. President H. Clinton, or Gore, or Kerry, or Biden, or Obama (my fantasy is a little hazy here, and will be content with whoever wins the nomination) appoints a whole boatload of qualified jurists in the Breyer mold. The courts are saved. The republic is saved. We all live happily ever after.

Hey, a man can dream, can't he?