-Source-The Daily Beast-
In football, your enemy isn’t the other team; your enemy is the clock. From a purely strategic standpoint, the same thing could be said about the current Supreme Court nomination battle. The Republicans’ enemy isn’t the Democrats, whom they outnumber. Their true enemy is the clock. That’s why the Democrats have been trying to “delay, delay, delay.” And, for a week now, it has worked.
Why are Republicans in a race against time? Because there is no guarantee that they will hold the Senate next year. Even if they do, their majority could be even slimmer than it is now, leaving less room for error. What is more, if they push to confirm a nominee in a lame duck session this fall, Republicans won’t have any leverage over Democratic senators living in red states, such as North Dakota’s Heidi Heitkamp and West Virginia’s Joe Manchin. The current leverage is that they have to get themselves reelected. But if that pressure is gone, whether they’ve won or lost on Nov. 6, they’re surely more likely to be solid no votes.
With the clock ticking, Republicans should ask themselves whether it’s time to replace Kavanaugh or whether they should stick with their starter.
For his part, Kavanaugh (based on a letter he released Monday) has no intentions of benching himself. “The coordinated effort to destroy my good name will not drive me out,” he said. “The vile threats of violence against my family will not drive me out. The last-minute character assassination will not succeed.”
But players don’t get to decide if they stay in the game. What is in the best interest of Republicans? There is not a clear answer to this question. Read more
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