Will the Kavanaugh Saga Leave Bruises That Heal Or Permanent Scars?

President Trump's choice of Brett Kavanaugh is already the most contentious nomination to the Supreme Court since Clarence Thomas won a 52-48 confirmation vote in 1991.

Thomas' was the closest vote confirming a justice since the 1800s, and it followed a stormy hearing and an adverse vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The process nearly foundered on accusations of sexual harassment and racial prejudice.

But the Senate in that day settled down, and Thomas has served on the court for 27 years – a nearly always silent anchor on the court's right.

The Kavanaugh controversy did not have a racial element, but at times has seemed equally bruising. It has divided the Senate just as evenly.

And it may prove to be more permanently divisive, not only for the Senate's confirmation process but for the Senate itself and for the Court as well.

It must be said that the atmosphere of collegiality has been deteriorating in both institutions for some time. But the Kavanaugh confrontation has