President Donald Trump's nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to fill the Supreme Court seat of retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy sparked predictable bile reactions, both on the left and the right.

Republican strategist Charlie Gerow (PennLive file)

What was especially interesting was not the vitriol with which the left attacked the nomination of Judge Kavanaugh, but the timing.

Even before the announcement was made, folks on the far left were tripping over each other to denounce whomever the nominee might be.

One leftwing group was so frantic to denounce the nominee that they forgot to fill in Judge Kavanaugh's name on their pre-written press release, which harshly criticized whomever he or she might have been.

When they finally got around to amending their screed, they managed to spell his name wrong. Not to worry, though, he was a threat to the Republic no matter who he was or what his name might be.

Joining them was U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa..

Hours before Trump had even announced his choice, Casey had announced he would oppose him or her. NONE of the 25 jurists the president had placed on his "short list" would pass muster for Sen. Casey, including some for whom he had voted to confirm as lower court judges.

"I will oppose the nomination the president will make tonight," declared Casey, before knowing who it was.

Casey even went so far as to call the selection of any of those jurists a "corrupt bargain."

Corrupt bargain? Really?

The phrase "corrupt bargain" refers to the incidents surrounding the election of 1824.

In that election no candidate for the presidency was able to garner a majority in the Electoral College. Under the provisions of the 12th Amendment to the Constitution, the election was then thrown into the House of Representatives. Although there were four candidates, only three were permitted to be voted on in the House.

Henry Clay, the speaker of the House, was the odd man out. He worked to get votes for John Quincy Adams, who ended up defeating Andrew Jackson, despite the fact that he trailed Jackson in the Electoral College.

Clay was subsequently appointed secretary of state by Adams, and Jackson's supporters screamed bloody murder throughout Adams' presidency that his election had resulted from a "corrupt bargain" between him and Clay.

What's the basis of claiming any "bargain," much less a corrupt one?

It's this kind of over-heated rhetoric that is causing some Democrats, including Bob Casey, problems.

It simply defies reality.

Judge Kavanaugh may not be Bob Casey's cup of tea philosophically, but he's precisely the type of jurist Donald Trump promised the American people he'd appoint.

He is a man with impeccable legal credentials, a distinguished record as a federal judge, a reputation as an incredibly hard worker, and a record of service to others through his church and in his community. He serves meals to the less fortunate and tutors elementary school kids. He's even a CYO girls basketball coach and a car pooler.

Most important, he has a judicial philosophy that he summed up succinctly: "The judge's job is to interpret the law, not make the law or make policy." That's what the American people said they want.

Judge Kavanaugh graduated from Yale Law School, clerked for three federal judges, distinguished himself for the past dozen years as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

That court is viewed as the "bench" for the Supreme Court of the United States. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Thomas and Ginsburg all came to the high court directly from there.

When Judge Kavanaugh was confirmed to his current post it was on a bi-partisan vote, despite the fact that there had been contentious judicial fights at the time.

Both Pennsylvania senators voted to confirm him, as did Delaware's Democratic Sen. Tom Carper.

There's no question that Judge Kavanaugh is well qualified to sit on the Supreme Court of the United States.

So why all the hyperbolic rhetoric from Bob Casey and the far left? Look no further back than the nomination of Justice Kennedy whom they now laud. He was accused of being a "sexist."

Then there was David Souter, nominated by George H.W. Bush. He was a "step backwards into dark ages we will no longer accept." He, of course, turned out to be a reliable liberal vote on the court.

What shines through is that Bob Casey is no longer the centrist Democrat in the mold of his father that first came onto the political scene. He's taken several left turns through the years and recently has adopted hard left stands. That may cause him some trouble come November.

A large number of voters pulled a lever or pushed a button for Donald Trump two years ago, based on their view that he might be appointing several justices to the Supreme Court. They clearly signaled that they wanted justices in the mold of Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.

These nominees should get a full and fair hearing, not prejudged opposition to ANY selection.

PennLive Opinion contributor Charlie Gerow is CEO of Quantum Communications in Harrisburg. His "Donkeys & Elephants" column appears weekly opposite progressive commentator Kirstin Snow.