Judge Brett Kavanaugh of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit is a superbly qualified Supreme Court nominee. But let’s be honest about why he was chosen — and why his choice is so popular on the right. It’s not because of his judicial philosophy, known as “originalism” — i.e., trying to discern the original meaning of the Constitution.
Aside possibly from a few members of the Federalist Society, which helped to put together President Donald Trump's master list of court nominees, few people, including the president himself, are interested in judicial philosophy. They're interested in political outcomes.