Manchin and Heitkamp announce they wont block Trump's Nominee

[TJ in Oregon]

Fake Democrats.

Democrats aren't fake just because they adopt a more moderate stance on the issues. Moreover, you should realize that Manchin and Heitkamp need to walk a fine line in order to win reelection in their states, states which voted heavily for President Trump.

My God you people are pathetic. The GOP could cheat and lie its way into every position of power in this country while running on a far-right platform and you'd still insist that Democrats need to play nice and use the same old failed triangulation tactics to win over muh swing voters. Seeing you people's faces when Manchin and Heitkamp lose because no principled Democrat bothered to cast a ballot for them will be a silver lining for me next November.

The fabled Trump Country liberal RBG fan, rarely seen in the wild, but rumored to be kingmakers in their states' Senate elections.

Do you seriously believe the average persuadable voter thinks of SCOTUS nomination fights in ideological terms (or thinks about them at all beyond the media spin of "this is a victory for party X")?

Yes. SCOTUS nomination fights are the single most important sets of votes a senator ever makes on traditional social issues. And that's pretty widely known. I'd consider voting for Manchin or Heitkamp if I lived in their states. And while not a majority, Heitkamp and Manchin need votes from people like me if they're going to get elected. Not everyone is a complete partisan hack who simply needs to be ticked off so they go out and vote against the other side.