President Trump's nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court has reached a barrier that may not be surmountable: A college professor is accusing Kavanaugh of sexual assaulting her while they were teenagers. Some analyses at The Week offer insight into the GOP's dilemma. Scott Lemieux wonders why Republicans are adamantly standing by the troubled nominee. His argument is that the GOP could easily find someone else on The Federalist Society's Top 25 list to replace Kavanaugh and have them approved before the midterm election. Meanwhile, David Faris writes that The American judiciary is in serious trouble, and accuses Republicans of abusing their power:
The GOP's abuse of its power of judicial appointments is so widespread at this point as to feel commonplace, and it goes far beyond the behavior of Vichy Republicans in Congress. Party elites at all levels are acting like bank robbers feverishly stuffing stacks into sacks even as they hear the sirens approaching in the distance.
Ryan Cooper says Kavanaugh's nomination reveals "the utter moral corruption of American conservatism. And at Salon, Bob Brigham says former RNC Chairman Michael Steele claims Republicans have been privately discussing ways to remove Kavanaugh's nomination. MSNBC's Chris Matthews says the Kavanaugh nomination is really all about Trump.