Look at the seats the Rats are defending and the few seats the Pubs are defending. Granted if the Pubs had actually done what they said they would they would probably hold the House and maybe even gain some seats. The Senate though is a totally different story. The vast majority of the seats in question are Rat seats. The Pubs will gain in the Senate and it's really a question of how much.
As far as Kavanaugh goes I'm indifferent. He sounds good, but has a long history with the Bush's and the DC establishment. Also, the Ivy League connection is not a plus in my view. If he gets confirmed and sticks to the literal meaning of the Constitution great. However, we really won't know until he's on the court. Roberts sold us down the river after everyone said he was going to be a strict constructionist and was a great pick.
Add into that the republicans at the margin who might bolt another nominee, such as Collins, and Kavanaugh was a very reasonable choice at this point. Whether anyone will admit it or not, for better or worse, Collins has a lot of power here because of the risk of her bolting.
And a loss now would have emboldened the democrats as well.
Of course it’s all speculation one way or the other, but as things stand now, on the basis of the Congress as it stands now, Kavanaugh was probably the right pick.
And no, he wasn’t my first choice.
