Don't sacrifice Democrats' Senate seats in a futile fight against Kavanaugh confirmation
Ross K. Baker, Opinion columnist Published 10:49 a.m. ET Aug. 3, 2018
Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court is nearly inevitable. Vulnerable Democratic senators shouldn't sacrifice their seats to oppose him.
Barring some explosive last-minute scandalous revelation, Brett Kavanaugh will be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Attracting a couple of Republicans to turn thumbs-down on the judge seems increasingly remote. Nothing that either Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins or Alaska’s Sen. Lisa Murkowski have done or said suggests that either of them will jump ship. Nonetheless, Democratic activists have been hounding Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to coerce West Virginia’s Sen. Joe Manchin, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp from North Dakota and Indiana’s Sen. Joe Donnelly into falling on their swords by voting against Kavanaugh. Such acts of self-sacrifice would be unimaginable in today’s Senate where careers are not tossed away lightly. And even in the unlikely event that Schumer could persuade these Democrats to walk the plank, the party would end up being far worse off than it is now.
more
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/08/03/judge-brett-kavanaugh-supreme-court-democratic-senate-seats-column/874129002/
