There has been much discussion (including on DKos, appropriately) of the threat to civil rights and much else if Kavanaugh is confirmed. There have been discussions of what Democrats should try in response, ranging from impeachment and indictment attempts to plans to expand the SCOTUS to 13 in order to balance out the RWNJs, including the illegitimate ones Gor-SUCK and Kavanaugh. There have been discussions of the response, especially female response, to this (probable) confirmation.
But it seems to be taken for granted that the 4 right wingers on the SCOTUS will welcome Kavanaugh as their 5th vote with open arms. I’m not so sure. They want a 5th vote, for sure. But we know that Chief Justice Roberts ALSO cares about the Reputation of the Court. He knows that Bush v. Gore hugely undermined public confidence in the SCOTUS. His decision on the ACA was not neutral jurisprudence, but a brilliant undermining of the law while upholding its basic Constitutionality as a way to try to rehabilitate the Court’s reputation. Yes, Roberts also voted for outrageous decisions on voting rights, affirmative action, gun control, and much else that has contributed to the undermining of the Court’s reputation as a neutral party—but he’s also had some sense of how far to push before history judges HIS SCOTUS (while he is Chief Justice) badly.
I’m just guessing, and I could be giving Roberts more credit than he deserves (as I wouldn’t give Thomas, Alito, or Gor-SUCK), but I think Roberts might take a new Justice Kavanaugh aside for what we Southerners call, “a talking to.” I can see Roberts telling Kavanaugh that he WILL recuse himself in all matters Trump and all matters where he worked for W. I can see him saying point blank that U.S. v. Nixon WAS rightly decided and that the Court will be an equal and separate branch of government. What if Kav refuses? Roberts could simply side-line him, NEVER assigning him a majority opinion. Also, he could say that if a criminal investigation is opened against Kavanaugh that he, Roberts, will actually RECOMMEND his impeachment/removal from the SCOTUS.
Am I at all on track here or just DESPERATE to believe that not every conservative is a complete scum-bag?