With the New York Times this morning slandering the eminently qualified judicial nominee Brett Kavanaugh for the crime of having worked for an independent counsel whose appointment the paper itself demanded and for (gasp) the actual White House, the gauntlet has again been thrown down on judges. The Gang of 14 deal last year said that filibusters of judicial nominations would only be permitted in “extraordinary circumstances,” otherwise Republican signatories to the deal would break it and vote to end judicial filibustering altogether. It’s time for another showdown, and Kavanaugh is probably the showdown case. In my view, the Gang of 14 deal will hold and Democratic signatories to the deal will agree to vote for cloture and let Kavanaugh get a fair vote on the floor of the Senate. If not, well…nuclear option it will be. Ronald Cass offers a very judicious analysis of the matter on Real Clear Politics.