The Washington Examiner: The Left is unraveling and red-state Democrats have the most to lose

As speculation in Washington mounted about who would be President Trump’s second Supreme Court nominee Monday night, protesters gathered in front of the Supreme Court ready to #Resist. Some were poised with Sharpie markers ready to fill in the blank with the chosen name, while others carried a mix of preprinted signs paid for by professional protesters from the Center for American Progress and Planned Parenthood. When the announcement finally came that it would be the esteemed jurist Brett Kavanaugh, a number of people in the crowd were evidently so overcome with rage that they continued to push their “Stop Hardiman” signs high into the air for the television cameras. The event, headlined by 2020 contender Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., became so unruly that it forced live broadcasts to move and the police to shut down the surrounding area.

This isn’t some random street theater; this is the state of disarray that has consumed the Left in the wake of this Supreme Court vacancy. When Justice Anthony Kennedy first announced his retirement, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., told Trump he had to wait until after the midterm elections to nominate a candidate. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., who is also eyeing a White House run, articulated an even more absurd standard for choosing a nominee: The president should not be allowed to nominate someone until the Russia investigation is over. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., who is up for re-election in a state that Trump won, preemptively said that he would oppose any of the president’s nominees — even before we had a name.

If you were hoping that the president’s prime-time presentation of Kavanaugh’s impressive judicial record or the nominee’s own humble speech about his service to the community and even-handed judicial philosophy would cool down some of the more heated rhetoric, you were sadly mistaken. During the announcement, the Women’s March mistakenly sent out a cookie-cutter press release declaring their opposition to “XX.” Former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia irresponsibly claimed that the nomination put lives in danger (that is, for those who weren’t already killed by the supposedly apocalyptic Republican tax cuts or repeal of net neutrality). Neera Tanden from the Center for American Progress dabbled in conspiracy theories involving Kennedy’s son, Trump, and a loan from a Russian bank, while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., vowed to stop the confirmation with “everything” he has.

The reason why the Left is apoplectic over this process is because they do not speak from any guiding judicial principles that would form the basis for an articulate and intellectual opposition. Liberals want judges to bypass the legislature and achieve their policy goals through judicial decree without the trouble of having to appeal to voters or win democratic arguments. That’s why you see liberals in meltdown mode arguing about how a nominee would or would not effect specific policy goals, without reference to the Constitution.

On the other hand, conservatives seek fair and independent judges who focus on the letter of the law and the Constitution. Their highest priority is selecting judges with a demonstrated practice of interpreting the Constitution according to its original public meaning (an approach known as originalism) and focusing on the clear language of laws and statutes (known as textualism).

Judges like Kavanaugh understand that a crucial component of rendering fair and impartial decisions is judges interpreting laws and the Constitution as they were written, not as the judges wish they were written.\

Kavanaugh will win the necessary support in the Senate to be confirmed to the Supreme Court because his qualifications are impeccable and he is an honorable public servant. Democratic Senators in states that the president won in 2016 would better serve themselves and their constituents by finding a way to work with Trump to achieve this and avoiding the Left’s descent into madness.

Alexandra Smith (@AlexandraCSmith) is executive director of America Rising.

Original article can be found here.