For the past 40 years, the Democratic Party has made what the Republicans would do to the Supreme Court a major portion of their political appeal.

It has been a major argument for supporting corporatist Democrats: Even if they are against unions, support Wall Street looters, etc., because they would fight with the rest of the party to keep reactionary whackdoodles off of the Supreme Court.

Well, it now appears that Chuck Schumer has decided that promises are for suckers:

The top Democrat in the Senate has vowed to fight President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee with everything he’s got. Just don’t expect him to crack down on his red-state Democrats who go rogue and back Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh.

“Punishment is not how this place works,” Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.) said in an interview this week.

Schumer is trying to stay upright on a nearly impossible political balance beam he has wobbled across throughout Trump’s presidency, caught between his party’s demanding left flank and centrist Democrats whose survival in ­November’s midterm elections will decide the Senate majority. No other congressional leader has experienced dueling pressures so acutely.

Although anger against Trump has reached a fever pitch in the Democratic Party and activists are clamoring for all-out war against Kavanaugh, Schumer has opted not to use hardball tactics to pressure moderates from Republican states to join the resistance.

Yes, eliminate what is literally the only reason to vote for craptastic hypocrites like Joe Manchin and Heidi Heitkamp, but at least your (never to be used) powder will be kept dry.

Seriously, I can think of no better way to demoralize your base.

Cowardice is both bad policy and bad politics.