The Supreme Court and the Election: What's at Stake

Herman Schwartz in the Nation writes The Supreme Court and the Election: What's at Stake:

Abortion
National security
Church-state separation
Gay rights
Affirmative action
Electoral issues
First Amendment protection

"Some commentators have suggested that a large Democratic majority in the new Senate could block an extreme nominee. That is wishful thinking. No Supreme Court nominees have been rejected since the bitter fight over Robert Bork in 1987, and Democrats don't want to go through that kind of battle again. Moreover, it is very difficult to block someone solely on ideological grounds, as the Alito and Roberts nominations showed, particularly if the nominee is otherwise qualified and is a smooth performer, like Roberts, at the confirmation hearing. It will be especially difficult to block a female nominee, given the scarcity of women on the Court, and there are many far-right women on the federal courts and elsewhere from which to choose."