Trump and his advisors made the calculated decision to select Bret Kavanaugh to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy because they believed they could avoid the confirmation fight a more Conservative Nominee would have posed. Amy Coney Barrett was the preferred choice of most conservatives, myself included. But the moderates in the Trump Administration feared getting bogged down in an abortion fight because of her Religious views.

That was the fight to have. It would have made those running in Red States defend their position on late term abortion. It would also have exposed their expressed support for women for the sham that it is as the only women they support are the ones they agree with.

The other miscalculation Republicans made was the time factor. With the tax cut passed and the Economy beginning to roar, they were confident of their ability to sail through the November elections. They could, they thought, hold Barrett until the next Vacancy, at which time she would be able to glide through the confirmation process.

Not once did they consider what would happen if instead they lost the Senate.

So we now stand with a Nominee beaten and bloodied by accusations from a woman who waited 36 years to make them with no credible evidence or witnesses who even if confirmed will be tainted for the entirety of his tenure on the Court.

Worse, if the confirmation fails, the very real possibility exits that should Democrats take back control, they could hold Kennedy’s seat vacant for the remaider of Trump’s first term leaving us with a divided Court for the next two years.

Since they were going to be in a street fight anyway they should have had the courage to fight for the most Conservative Nominee. Courage however is not in the Republican lexicon as they’ve demonstrated since regaining the Presidency. First on Healthcare which voters are now saying is their number one issue and why not, it impacts their lives daily, and now this.

In the era of the #metoo movement at least Amy Coney Barrett would have been insulated.