I think the mistake that everyone is now making is that they are assuming that Jeff Flake, Susan Collins, Ben Sass, and Lisa Murkowski are all part of the same Republican Party as the one affiliated with President Donald J. Trump. Recent evidence suggests that this is no longer so. If John McCain were alive and voting today, I might include the mavericks name onto this list of old order Republicans as well.
Every agreed upon delay and every day that goes by in the Kavanaugh confirmation process seems to make it more and more clear that this is much less about Brett Kavanaugh (or anyone else who might replace him), as it is about letting the "Never Trumper old order Republicans" in the senate put a shiv into anything that remotely looks like a political victory for Trump.
In other words, these old order types will publicly wring their collective hands in anguish for the benefit of their voting constituents, but will then quickly fall in line with Spartacus Booker, Richard (Vietnam war hero, almost) Blumenthal, Kamala Harris, Diane Feinstein,and the rest of the senate Democrats in order to kill Trump's nominee. Nothing personal Brett or Mrs. K. It is just politics.
If I am correct, then no Trump SCOTUS nominee, now or in the future will ever pass muster for RINO's like Flake and company. Democrats, Hollywood, Silicon Valley, and Wall Street all hate Trump because he had the unmitigated gall to defeat their best girl, Hillary back in 2016. Republican elites, however, hate Trump just as much for the unforgivable sin of stealing their party away from them. For these crimes, Trump must pay.
Let the games continue.
