EDITORIAL: Senate Republicans should ignore desperate Democratic pleas on Kavanaugh nomination

The future of the Supreme Court overrode trepidation about Donald Trump for many Republicans who voted to put him in the White House. That issue remains key for GOP supporters, despite the crisis swirling around the White House.

In the wake of last week’s developments in the Robert Mueller investigation, several Senate Democrats are now calling for the Senate to halt confirmation hearings for Mr. Trump’s second high court nominee, federal Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh. This is the latest attempt by Chuck Schumer and his progressive allies to slow the process until after the November elections. But last we checked, Mr. Trump is still the president, and Republicans control the Senate. The Kavanaugh nomination has nothing to do with the Mueller probe or Russian collusion.

There’s no question the Trump scandals have given cover to many Democrats to more aggressively oppose Kava- naugh. Some, playing to the far left, now call his nomination “illegitimate,” given the administration’s current challenges. This is partisan desperation ungrounded in the Constitution. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell should move forward with the scheduled hearings — and Republicans should keep the heat on vulnerable Democrats.

There is no issue with Judge Kavanaugh’s qualifications. He is firmly in the judicial mainstream, but some Senate Democrats paint him as a dangerous extremist. Keep in mind, however, that a “dangerous extremist” to today’s Democrats is a jurist who professes fealty to the nation’s founding document.

As The Wall Street Journal reported last week, 10 senators scheduled to vote on Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination are seeking re-election in states won by Mr. Trump in 2016. These senators are in an awkward position and susceptible to bucking Sen. Schumer. “For a red-state senator, a ‘yes’ vote allows you to burnish your bipartisan credentials and shows swing voters that you are not afraid to stand up to the liberal crowd,” Jim Manley, a former Senate leadership aide, told the Journal. “But that is not going to play well in all the red states, so I expect at least a few Democratic senators to vote ‘no’ in the end.”

The National Republican Senatorial Committee has purchased $2.8 million in ads opposing four incumbent Democratic senators. While the ads don’t focus on Judge Kavanaugh, the Journal points out, they target the senators for being liberal and opposing the president’s policies. Perhaps some ads focusing on the importance of the nomination might also be in order.

Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation would play a huge role in ensuring the court upholds the values articulated in the Constitution, which remain a priority to many Republican voters and independents. It would also motivate GOP supporters ahead of what will likely be a difficult midterm.

The current controversies have nothing to do with the Supreme Court. The GOP’s best course of action is to move forward on the Kavanaugh nomination and keep the heat on those vulnerable Democratic senators.