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Sun 30 Sep, 2018 05:54 am
The GOP tends to support strict constitutionalists in supreme court appointments, which ultimately means they don't have much to gain in terms of partisan politics from their supreme court appointments.
So it might be more profitable for the GOP, from a strictly partisan standpoint, to have the obstruction of Kavanaugh and/or other nominees continue, because that motivates voters to support GOP candidates in elections as a backlash against DEM obstructionism.
If Trump wins and achieves a supreme court appointment, on the other hand, voters are more likely to see the political balance shifting in favor of the GOP. Because swing voters especially tend to favor the party they see as the underdog, the GOP/Trump winning the supreme court could motivate more voters to vote for DEM candidates in elections, i.e. because they would see it as a way to check/balance GOP gains in the courts.
As such, it might be the case (ironically) that the DEMS are hurting their own election chances by fighting against GOP/Trump control over supreme court appointment at this time.
@livinglava,
I've read a lot on this point, whether the GOP will turn out in anger or turn away in disgust and I think it's some of each. The administration has complete control of Congress and get through the last nomination with no problem, but decides to go with a poorly researched candidate that is a favorite of some of the administration backers and gets bogged down. There are at least five names more conservative than Kavanaugh who would be trying out their new robes by now. That this is still be discussed is an own goal from the administration. Still, there will be plenty who see Kavanaugh as a martyr and vote (but I bet they were going to vote anyway.)
@engineer,
engineer wrote:
I've read a lot on this point, whether the GOP will turn out in anger or turn away in disgust and I think it's some of each. The administration has complete control of Congress and get through the last nomination with no problem, but decides to go with a poorly researched candidate that is a favorite of some of the administration backers and gets bogged down. There are at least five names more conservative than Kavanaugh who would be trying out their new robes by now. That this is still be discussed is an own goal from the administration. Still, there will be plenty who see Kavanaugh as a martyr and vote (but I bet they were going to vote anyway.)
Idk. It's ironic that all the conservative judicial nominee candidates have said that they see Roe v. Wade as settled case law, yet the popular fear of GOP-nominations threatening abortion rights seems to be behind the fervent fight to obstruct any Trump nominee from being confirmed, probably also as retaliation for blocking the Obama nomination.
I think if there is anything that can sway moderates in favor of voting for the other party, it is the feeling that power is shifting too far in favor of one party or the other. I don't think most people trust either party, for the most part, so those who can bear to vote at all may strategically vote for the sake of maintaining a balance of power between 'partisan/factional evils.'
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