

I’ve been on record for while that I think the “But Gorsuch” meme among Never Trumpers and Trump skeptics on the right is inapt. It ignores other policies conservatives should gladly support, and underestimates the importance of the nearly miraculous swing from Merrick Garland to Neil Gorsuch. The last two weeks have brought this home even more. The Court’s 5-4 decisions at the end of the latest term demonstrate how important that fifth vote is, and now, presumably, Trump is going to solidify the conservative bloc with a second highly credentialed, robustly constitutionalist pick. At the very least, the meme is going to need to updated to, “But Gorsuch and Another Impressive Conservative Justice.” Better still to retire it altogether and celebrate what, between the appellate court judges and at least two Supreme Court justices, is shaping up to be an enduring conservative legacy of this presidency.