An op-ed in the WSJ makes this case convincingly, here. It gets to the point quickly:
Moderates could do a lot worse than Judge Neil Gorsuch--and we probably will if he isn't confirmed. Donald Trump is clearly determined to nominate a judicial conservative to the Supreme Court. Elections have consequences, as Barack Obama once chided congressional Republicans.
Republicans control both the White House and the Senate, and the idea that they will allow Democrats to, in effect, designate the next Justice to accord with their own policy preferences is a fantasy. If left-wing petulance forces Sen. McConnell to change the rules to "go nuclear," what, exactly, does the Left think is going to happen next?
Here's a clue: Needing only 50 votes next time (with Vice President Pence as the tie-breaker), Trump may feel free to name a more doctrinaire nominee than he has now. Justice Breyer is 78; Justice Kennedy is 80; and Justice Ginsburg is 83. The likelihood of at least one additional vacancy for Trump to fill, and possibly three, is anything but remote.
Still, if the Left wants to dig in its heels, it's fine with me. Three more Clarance Thomases will warm the cockles of my cold, textualist heart.
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