How Republicans will spin Trump's Supreme Court nominee

From "He's an originalist" to "Roe v. Wade? Never heard of it"

This Supreme Court nomination will be one of the most important.
(Image credit: Photo Illustration by Jackie Friedman | Images courtesy iStock, Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

On live television tonight, President Trump will announce his choice to fill the Supreme Court seat that has been vacant for nearly a year. Barring an extremely unlikely turn of events, Republicans will proclaim this person to be the ablest judge in all the land, someone possessed of an unmatched combination of intellect and moral wisdom, with a commitment to the Constitution so firm that it would make Madison and Jefferson weep with gratitude.

Democrats, you can be equally sure, will not share this opinion. In the debate that follows, Republicans will insist that what they seek (and what they have found in Trump's choice) is not someone who will move the court in a conservative direction — they never even thought of something as crass as ideology! — but merely a devotee of the Framers' vision. So here are a few arguments that should give you pause and what they really mean:

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Paul Waldman

Paul Waldman is a senior writer with The American Prospect magazine and a blogger for The Washington Post. His writing has appeared in dozens of newspapers, magazines, and web sites, and he is the author or co-author of four books on media and politics.