It’s not Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s fault that a last resort, no-holds-barred attack on a nominee of President Trump is known as a “full Kavanaugh” or the “Kavanaugh effect.” But the name has stuck. And now the tactic used against Kavanaugh has been unleashed against economist Stephen Moore, whom Trump has picked for a seat on the Federal Reserve board. As with Kavanaugh, Moore’s nomination is jeopardized by something that has little if anything to do with the post for which he’s been chosen.

Moore’s selection has prompted another elite-versus-populist fight, a common phenomenon in Trump’s Washington. The elites see themselves as members of an exclusive club. They’re economists with impressive academic titles, financial industry virtuosos, monetary policy “experts,” and members of the economic press corps.