The Senate this morning voted to end debate on Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court. A final vote is scheduled for Saturday, and it looks like it will be a party-line nail-biter.

From the moment Kavanaugh was nominated to fill Anthony Kennedy’s seat, Senate Democrats, led by Chuck Schumer (NY) and Dianne Feinstein (CA), worked a deliberate strategy to derail his confirmation at all costs. It began with a campaign to paint Kavanaugh as the justice who would overturn Roe v. Wade, and upon this ground Democrats declared him too partisan to be confirmed. When it became clear that this tactic would fail to stop his confirmation, Feinstein and Company elected to go with character assassination, announcing 11th-hour allegations of sexual assault that Feinstein had sat on for weeks, presumably because even she knew at the time it lacked any corroborating evidence, as the latest FBI investigation confirms.

Democrats’ game plan was to turn up the heat on Kavanaugh enough to convince him and Republicans that it wasn’t worth it; they hoped Kavanugh would succumb to the mounting public pressure and withdraw. This required weaponizing the #MeToo movement to scare Republicans into conceding to the Democrats’ demands lest they suffer significant losses in the upcoming midterms thanks to women voters.

But Republicans wisely, though at times rather weakly, called Feinstein’s bluff. Kavanaugh’s accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, was given a Senate hearing, in which Democrats demanded a seventh FBI investigation into Kavanaugh. Dems got their week delay, but, as everyone knew would be the case, the resulting probe found no new evidence to corroborate Ford’s allegations (or those of a second accuser). In fact, if anything new was uncovered by the FBI, it’s that Ford’s lifelong friend, who Ford says was at the supposed party, claimed she was pressured by allies of Ford to “revisit” her initial statement where she denied any knowledge of the party in question or even having known Kavanaugh.

No matter. Democrats anticipated the FBI’s findings and quickly dismissed their relevance — even before receiving the report. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) declared that “the whole thing is a sham,” while Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) insisted the investigation was “bulls—t.” Meanwhile, Democrats had already begun to pivot to their next attack, charging that Kavanaugh’s emotional testimony last Thursday displayed a “temperament” that made him unfit for serving on the Supreme Court. And they got help with a broadside from none other than former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, who said Thursday, “[Democrats] suggest that he has demonstrated a potential bias involving enough potential litigants before the court that he would not be able to perform his full responsibilities. And I think there is merit in that criticism and that the senators should really pay attention to it.”

Thursday evening, Kavanaugh pushed back against this latest attack on his character, writing in a Wall Street Journal op-ed:

I testified before the Judiciary Committee last Thursday to defend my family, my good name and my lifetime of public service. My hearing testimony was forceful and passionate. That is because I forcefully and passionately denied the allegation against me. At times, my testimony — both in my opening statement and in response to questions — reflected my overwhelming frustration at being wrongly accused, without corroboration, of horrible conduct completely contrary to my record and character. My statement and answers also reflected my deep distress at the unfairness of how this allegation has been handled. …

Going forward, you can count on me to be the same kind of judge and person I have been for my entire 28-year legal career: hardworking, even-keeled, open-minded, independent and dedicated to the Constitution and the public good. As a judge, I have always treated colleagues and litigants with the utmost respect. I have been known for my courtesy on and off the bench. I have not changed. I will continue to be the same kind of judge I have been for the last 12 years. And I will continue to contribute to our country as a coach, volunteer, and teacher. Every day I will try to be the best husband, dad, and friend I can be. I will remain optimistic, on the sunrise side of the mountain. I will continue to see the day that is coming, not the day that is gone.

I revere the Constitution. I believe that an independent and impartial judiciary is essential to our constitutional republic. If confirmed by the Senate to serve on the Supreme Court, I will keep an open mind in every case and always strive to preserve the Constitution of the United States and the American rule of law.

That is exactly what Democrats fear most. This whole Democrat-created fiasco was never about any questionable rulings, or #MeToo, or judicial temperament; rather this was all about Democrats’ fear that a constitutionally committed justice wouldn’t concede to their anti-constitutional activism. In other words, Kavanaugh is a huge roadblock to their leftist agenda — a roadblock they fully intended to destroy.

(Edited.)