IT'S NOT A pROGRESSIVE PARTY:

He's made his support of Childs plain in TV interviews, saying, "I can't think of a better person for President Biden to consider for the Supreme Court than Michelle Childs. She has wide support in our state. She's considered to be a fair minded, highly gifted jurist. She's one of the most decent people I've ever met. It would be good for the court to have somebody who's not at Harvard or Yale." (Her law degree is from the University of South Carolina.) [...]

Graham's argument is extremely similar to those Democrats are making for Childs's candidacy. They say that Childs's state-school law degree, along with her undergraduate degree from the University of South Florida, is badly needed to diversify the court from the standard Harvard or Yale judges. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, a fellow member of the South Carolina congressional delegation and one of the most influential African American Democrats in the country, has been making the same case and has predicted that Senator Tim Scott could also end up supporting Childs. Scott so far has stayed mum on the nomination.

Clyburn had breakfast with Graham and Scott on Wednesday morning, and in an interview with The New Republic predicted that if Biden picked Childs, she would have both South Carolina senators' votes, too. "I don't think it's that unusual for Graham. He's supported Biden's picks before," Clyburn said. "It might be kind of unusual for Scott who has had very positive things to say about Childs, and I predict if she's the nominee he'll vote for her. But I suspect there are starting to be several other Republicans who will vote for her."

The prospect of one of Biden's picks having at least two Republican votes--and maybe more from the most moderate Republicans in the Senate--makes Childs an especially appealing prospect for Democrats. That extra padding would allay reasonable Democratic concerns of one of the 50 members of their caucus going rogue and opposing Biden's nominee (Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema have made clear they can't be counted on for major party votes).

Every person on a shortlist for a Supreme Court nomination receives a high level of scrutiny over their past rulings. For Childs, that's meant coverage of her "tough-on-crime" sentences that have been overturned by other courts. [...]

Childs is also facing opposition from progressives over rulings that liberals see as anti-union and pro-employer. As a result, the Bernie Sanders-aligned Our Revolution group is urging Biden not to pick Childs.

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