EDITORIAL: Kavanaugh fight reveals the hideous face of the progressive resistance

Having failed in Phase 1 of their effort to block the Brett Kavanaugh nomination, Democrats embark upon Phase 2.

Judge Kavanaugh became Justice Kavanaugh over the weekend when the Senate on Saturday confirmed his nomination to the Supreme Court by the narrowest of margins. The cherished presumption of innocence concept prevailed despite the gutter tactics employed by leftist activists, Senate Democrats and various media surrogates to keep the court shorthanded until after the November election.

Yet the ugly nonsense continues. Democrats now float the possibility of impeachment while trying to undermine the high court’s legitimacy.

As for the latter, Justice Kavanaugh was nominated by President Donald Trump, and a majority of senators voted to affirm that selection — precisely as the Constitution requires. There is nothing illegitimate about it. In reality, progressives and Democrats — apoplectic that they may not get the desired outcomes they seek from the court — are attempting to intimidate Justice Kavanaugh and Chief Justice John Roberts into compromising their legal reasoning to appease the liberal mob.

As for impeachment … Democrats will apparently have quite a busy calendar if they win control of the House in November. Will Justice Kavanaugh’s attempted removal come before or after the effort to install Mike Pence in the Oval Office?

All this should be relevant to moderate and independent voters as the midterm elections near. The Democratic meltdown over Brett Kavanaugh offers a dress rehearsal of how the party of Pelosi and Schumer would govern over the next two years. While that may excite voters in the Bay Area, Manhattan and on the nation’s college campuses, their march to the hard left means Democrats again risk alienating the very constituencies that put Mr. Trump in the White House.

For instance, their unconscionable treatment of Justice Kavanaugh now has Democrats on the defensive in many states that are crucial to control of the Senate. The electoral map presents a significant challenge to Democrats, and polls show the Kavanaugh spectacle turned off a good many swing voters in states with Senate seats in play. This improves the chances the GOP will pad its current 51-49 majority.

The petulance, the entitlement, the shouting, the disruption, the intimidation tactics, the threats, the harassment — the repellent face of the progressive “resistance” has been on raging display in recent weeks. The partisans on both sides are immune to persuasion. Independent voters will ultimately determine come November whether such tactics will pay dividends at the ballot box.