Judge Amy Coney Barrett is everything that a good judge should be: independent-minded, brilliant, and committed to the text of the law rather than judging its downstream consequences —which is exactly why Democrats fear her.

Democratic opposition to Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court has nothing to do with her qualifications or individual beliefs, and everything to do with her judicial philosophy. She believes the judicial branch is an independent entity that exists not to make laws or change the Constitution but to interpret them. As she put it during her first confirmation hearing on Monday: “The policy decisions and value judgments of government must be made by the political branches elected by and accountable to the people. The public should not expect courts to do so, and courts should not try.”