Alito's "Coaches" May Have Violated Senate Ethics Code ... Not that this complaint will get us anywhere, but it's good to note the Village Voice piece by James Ridgeway. (I mean, so what if Lindsey Graham let it out that he's gonna vote for Alito no matter what? What's the big deal? Senate rules -- 'specially that quaint Rule 37 in the Senate Ethics Manual -- are sooo 20th century.)

"You might ask yourself: How is it that a reporter can re-cap Tuesday's hearings in a story about the Democratic performance, and not mention either Russ Feingold or Dianne Feinstein?," asks Reddhedd at FireDogLake blog? "Because the story appears in the WaPo. Wankers." (Hey, Redd, who you callin' wankers?)

P.S. Firedoglake's ReddHedd will be on Air America's Majority Report tonight with Sam and Janeane, "I'm scheduled for around 7:50 pm ET."

If you read today's headlines -- and only if you're tough -- you'd think Alito has the spectre of Specter's "minuet" more pre-determined than "Dancing with the Stars" (where at least the PEOPLE at home can call up, and register a vote!)!:

• "The gang that couldn't question straight," Salon: "[F]or all [the eight Democrats on the Judiciary] accomplished politically, they might as well have grilled frankfurters. With the clock ticking, the committee Democrats failed to advance any major new lines of argument or prompt any damaging admissions ... phrasing the query so artlessly that even the cast of Teletubbies would not have been fooled. Joe Biden -- one of the three Democrats on the committee who has spent half his life in the cave of winds known as the Senate – twice called Alito 'a man of integrity'. ..." (That pissed me off too! Cut the gravy! Give us the beef!)

• "Judge Alito Proves a Powerful Match for Senate Questioners," NYT

• "Alito: No president above law," Reuters (Yup, that really captures the essence of the executive power argument. (snark))

• "Alito Replies Don't Rock Status Quo," WaPo

• "But Enough About You, Judge; Let's Hear What I Have to Say," NYT

• "For Democrats, A Most Tender Roast of Alito," WaPo: "It was beginning to look as if the Democrats had shown up to a knife fight without a knife yesterday ..."

You get the drift. But, it's depressing to see "Where's the Fire?," from Mustang Bobby of Bark Bark Woof Woof blog: "I had no idea that the Democrats were going to be such wussies about questioning Judge Samuel Alito."

The Republicans are coming off in this little minuet as smug and smarmy; not a bad ploy when a bunch of your colleagues are about to go down for influence-peddling. Now if only the Democrats would stop being afraid of holding the judge accountable for his writings and worrying that they'll come off as "mean." When you're about to put a man on the Supreme Court for the rest of his life, you can take the risk of incurring the wrath of Fox News.

Ride 'em, Mustang Bobby. Ride 'em.

Wolfie just told Chuckie Schumer that it's a done deal. Schumer replied that the GOP marches in lockstep and it's hard to deal with that ... "it's amazing how everyone in the media goes along with this ..." Give him hell, Chuckie!