And the biggest damage from the court’s partisanship doesn’t even come from the nasty confirmation battles. It comes from the fact that a major American institution defines itself in an evidently false way. Hypocrisy isn’t good for credibility.

The second major threat to the court comes from the radicalness of Republican-appointed justices.

It’s true that the Democratic-appointed justices are more reliably liberal than in the past. There are no more conservatives like Byron White (a John Kennedy appointee) or Felix Frankfurter (a Franklin Roosevelt appointee). But the court’s Democrats still range from moderate to progressive. Stephen Breyer is only somewhat to the left of White and well to the right of Sonia Sotomayor, academic analysis shows. Merrick Garland, Obama’s jilted nominee, was also a moderate.

There are no more Republican moderates. With Anthony Kennedy gone, every Republican justice is on the far end of the spectrum — among the most conservative since World War II. Kavanaugh would almost certainly join them, as would any other Trump nominee.

Already, the Roberts court has often shown itself to be zealously activist. It has thrown out bipartisan legislation on voting rights and campaign finance. It has overruled decades-old precedents on labor unions, antitrust and criminal justice.

In the future, there is real reason to worry that the court will block government action on the two biggest threats to this country’s security and stability: climate change and stagnant middle-class living standards.

So what can be done about the court? There are no easy solutions.

Term limits for justices would be the best change. They would eliminate the high-stakes randomness of replacing justices and better connect the court to the long-term will of the people. With 18-year term limits, each four-year presidential term would automatically come with two appointments. Enacting this change is an enormous political lift, yet it’s worth trying.

A less palatable option is for Democrats to expand the court when they next control Washington. Given the outrage of the Garland nomination, Democrats are right to be thinking about this. But I hope they don’t have to resort to it, because it would risk a tit-for-tat battle that could do even more damage.