This past Thursday morning the Kansas City Star obtained audio of Missouri Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill “warn[ing] Democratic donors that blocking President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee could have dire consequences.” The Star’s Brian Lowry posted the audio (below, I hope) along with his article reporting on it.

Articulating the kind of rational calculation I set out in “Will the Dems die on Mount Gorsuch?,” McCaskill told her supporters: “I’m very uncomfortable being part of a strategy that’s going to open up the Supreme Court to a complete change.” The following day, however, McCaskill announced that she would back a filibuster of the Senate’s confirmation vote on Gorsuch.

Something’s happening here. What it is ain’t exactly clear.

Either the Senate Dems have become subservient tools of their lunatic base or they perceive a weak link (or three) among their Republican colleagues. Up for what should be a competitive reelection contest in 2018, McCaskill presents as an interesting case study in the possibilities.

Via Staff/Weekly Standard and Jim Swift/Weekly Standard.