Grudge match: Supreme Court nomination fight to take place in the shadow of Kavanaugh, Ginsburg, and Garland

The looming battle over President Trump’s third Supreme Court nominee will be colored by lingering bad blood over past confirmation fights, as both Democrats and Republicans have been radicalized by perceived slights to previous nominees.

Republicans and conservative activists are incensed by the treatment of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who they believe was falsely smeared as a rapist and dealt with unfairly by Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats. Sen. Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican who currently chairs the panel, has specifically invoked the Kavanaugh hearings in explaining why he has abandoned his reluctance to confirm a Supreme Court nominee during an election year.