Atop the list of items that Republican voters focused on during the 2016 election was the Supreme Court. With Justice Antonin Scalia’s death, the new president would have at least one opportunity to nominate a jurist to the highest position in the land. This factor was enough to motivate some right-leaning skeptics to vote for the GOP nominee.

Justice Anthony Kennedy’s announcement that he would retire by the end of July 2018 set off a frenzy among Republicans and Democrats alike. Placing two new justices on the court is a considerable advantage for any president. But however monumental the act, both parties have been so caught up in their respective ideologies that they simultaneously view a Kavanaugh confirmation as either securing the future for conservative good or bringing an end to even the most basic of freedoms.