Kavanaugh Fight [Appears] to Be to the Death

For John, BLUF:  There is no basis for compromise, no place for retreat..  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Red-state Dems face nightmare scenario on Kavanaugh

Here is the sub-headline:

From The Hill, by Alexander Bolton, 2 October 2018.

Here is the lede plus four:

Senate Democrats up for reelection this year in deep-red states face a nightmare decision on how to handle Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Vulnerable Democrats are hoping Republicans will force him to withdraw his nomination, allowing them to avoid politically divisive votes.

The Democrats in the toughest position are Sens. Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), Joe Donnelly (Ind.) and Joe Manchin (W.Va.).  Heitkamp and Manchin are undecided, and both are seeking another six-year term in states that Trump won by double digits in 2016.  Donnelly is in much the same boat but said on Friday that he would vote ‘no’ on Kavanaugh.

All three voted for President Trump’s first Supreme Court pick, Neil Gorsuch, in 2017.

But this time around the partisan divide is much more bitter: The seat Kavanaugh has been tapped to fill will likely determine the balance of the court for years, and a confirmation vote is slated to take place a month before Election Day.

My take-away is the Democratic Caucus in the Senate is hoping that Judge Kavanaugh will just go away.  That should spare certain Senators from having to make choices.  However, there may be an incentive for Judge Kavanaugh.  If he steps down he could still be at risk.  At The Hill we have this 29 September Headline—"Pelosi on impeaching Kavanaugh: If he's lying 'he's not fit' for court he's on now".  I don't see an incentive there for Judge Kavanaugh to back out of the nomination.

Hat tip to the DThe Drudge Report.

Regards  —  Cliff