And here's my fear- that McConnell, who seems to be orchestrating this whole thing, will go along with that call for recusal, and thereby gain credit for crafting "a reasonable compromise" in a situation that should have never gotten to the point that it needed that compromise to begin with. McConnell wants the SC seat, but not necessarily to seal Trump's reelection; he's forcing the issue before the election because he thinks the GOP may lose either the White House or the Senate (possibly both), and thus lose even the fig leaf of justification he's constructed- afterwards, nobody will buy "the voice of the people compels us!" from the last two elections (2016 and 2018) when the most recent undercuts them. If they force the nomination through before the election, its results won't matter, the GOP will have what they want, that SC seat with its long-term benefits. And if they agree that Barrett should recuse, then, as I said, they get credit for being "reasonable," which may swing enough votes their way to limit the damage from the election, possibly even win it for either Senate or the White House or both. If they don't win, oh well- McConnell himself is safe enough in KY, there's always another election no more than two years down the road, and peoples' memories are usefully short while that SC seat is for a lifetime.
