Dems must keep eyes on Senate prize

It is necessary, but not sufficient, to defeat President Donald Trump in the coming election. Democrats must also take control of the Senate — and are deliciously close to that goal.

If there is anyone left who fails to grasp the importance of the Senate majority, they will be enlightened in the coming weeks, as Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell, R-KY., and Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, RS.C., rush Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett through her confirmation process. In doing so, they will cement a 6-to-3 conservative majority on the high court that is likely to warp our jurisprudence for decades.

Democrats may not be able to stop this outrage, but on Nov. 3 they can — and should — put a firm expiration date on the Republican Party ’s power.

Joe Biden’s lead over Trump in the polls is large enough that Trump looks likely to be a drag on incumbent GOP senators facing tough reelection campaigns. The parlous state of the Republican slate is illustrated by the fact that even Graham, whose reelection is usually a mere formality, finds himself in a real battle against Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison. Recent CBS and Quinnipiac polls have shown that race a dead heat, and Harrison has raised such a formidable war chest that Graham was reduced to going on Fox News last week and literally begging viewers for money to keep himself competitive.

Graham reportedly hopes his highprofile role in Barrett’s confirmation hearings will give him a boost. But several national polls have shown that most Americans want the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg ’s Supreme Court seat left open until after the election so the new president can choose her replacement. Graham might end up energizing his base but also arousing his opposition.

According to Realclearpolitics poll averages, Susan Collins of Maine trails Democrat Sara Gideon by 6.5 points; Thom Tillis of North Carolina trails Democrat Cal Cunningham by 6 points; Martha Mcsally of Arizona trails Democrat Mark Kelly by 5.2 points; Joni Ernst of Iowa trails Democrat Theresa Greenfield by 2.6 points, within the margin of error in recent polls; and Steve Daines of Montana is locked in a statistical tie with Democrat Steve Bullock. In Colorado, where there is scant recent polling, most analysts say incumbent Cory Gardner has an uphill battle against Democrat John Hickenlooper.

If Democrats were able to win any four of those races, Mcconnell’s new title would be minority leader — assuming he wins his own reelection battle, which is likely but not guaranteed.

There is no reason the Barrett confirmation fight should in any way hurt Democrats at the polls. All they have to do is avoid injuring themselves, and they can do that by keeping the focus on two themes that clearly work in their favor: unfairness and health care.

They should decline to be baited into any kind of fight over Barrett’s faith and how it may or may not affect her judicial views. She has been through the confirmation process before. She’s not going to be badgered into saying whether she does or does not intend to vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. It would be a mistake to make her look like a victim.

Instead, Democrats should continue to emphasize that the confirmation process itself is unfair and should not be taking place. And to the extent they talk about issues, they should highlight health care and the imminent threat to the Affordable Care Act, whose fate is on the Supreme Court docket just weeks after the election. Millions of Americans are now able to afford health insurance because of the ACA’S protections for those with preexisting conditions. If the court strikes down the law, those protections — despite Trump’s toothless executive order — will be gone at a moment of deep economic scarring.

Voters care a lot about health care. Republicans obviously do not. And that looks like a very big problem for the GOP.