re: #19 KGxvi

If they can hold their seats as Democrats in states that would otherwise vote Republican, it’s probably not a terrible trade off. Gorsuch will likely vote the same way that Scalia would have voted, so the balance of the court isn’t changing with this appointment (as I mentioned yesterday, it’s the next two or three appointments that will matter in that regard). Two additional Democrats in the Senate are probably more valuable long term for Democratic/progressive interests.

McCaskill also seems to be wobbly on this issue. I’m not going to get too bent out of shape if the Democrats sustain a filibuster with a few deviations from the party line, but these people are kidding themselves if they think being Republican-lite is a winning strategy.