Kerry was just posturing for the Kossacks. He knew there'd be no filibuster; Reid had already said so.
Exactly. political cover for his looney base
Correct. As I stated on another thread, the timing alone tells you what this is. He waited to call for the filibuster until he knew there were 60 votes for cloture. By calling for the filibuster he faces no risk, but can only gain. He appeals to the moonbats in the party that write the checks and that he'll need to wrest the nomination away from Hillary. Although it may hurt him a bit with general voters, the election is still 2 years away and it likely won't come back to haunt him. If Alito is not filibustered, he plays himself off as the hero who, unlike Senator Clinton, not only voted against Alito but had the courage of his convictions to call for the filibuster. If, in the unlikely event Alito was actually filibustered, he would become nearly divine to the DailyKos crowd.
[Kerry was just posturing for the Kossacks. He knew there'd be no filibuster; Reid had already said so.]
But the Kossacks are so upset that they are tearing him and each other apart for this.
The Kossacks are yelling "He thinks we're a cheap date. He knew he could just call this one in from the ski slopes and earn some brownie points with us, even though Reid already told him it was no use."
But guess what: The Kossacks ARE a cheap date for a Massachusetts senator.
Yep. Kabuki for the anti-war Left -- he's trying to beat Feingold to that slim opening versus Cankles.
He still might start to filibuster and Frist will call the cloture vote and all will be done. Kerry is a hero to the moon bat base, and the Dems who vote for cloture will get their wrath.