Impeaching Kavanaugh and or Clarence Thomas could be considered a 'duty.'
If they did "do their duty" right now, would you be applauding? Or would you be banging your head on your desk like everyone else saying, "Think about the consequences!! Yes, it's awful watching them in action, and would be satisfying seeing Thomas gone after that blatant abuse during "Citizens United" and getting an abusive, tempramentally unqualified rapist off the bench, but NOT NOW! Wait until we don't have so much to lose by doing so!!!"
You know why Mitch McConnell won't let so many House bills come to the Senate - After all, he knows that they won't pass, so why would he need to keep them off the floor? It's not just his own job - or to please big donors like the NRA and fossil fuels.
He knows that getting those GOP votes on the record against bills with names like "BIPARTISAN BACKGROUND CHECKS ACT OF 2019 " will be used against them by Dems in 2020 - especially states that are turning purple. There would be nothing to gain by letting it come to the floor, and would give ammunition to those who want to primary moderate GOP Senators in purple states.
It's the same reason behind Paul Ryan bringing the "repeal and replace" vote to the floor dozens of times, even if it had zero chance of getting anywhere. Getting those votes on the record for Freshmen GOP tea partiers to use in their campaigns.
If we wanted Dem leaders to use the same tactics that McConnell uses against them, we need to LET THEM. This is what Pelosi is doing. She knows how these votes will affect Dem 2020 House and Senate campaigns in swing districts and red states.
The Kavanaugh confirmation was a wet dream for the GOP - they knew that it was a lose/lose for Senate Dems in Red states. If they voted to please their constituents and keep their seat - no matter if it made NO difference in the outcome, they would be vilified by Democrats accross the country. If they voted with Democrats - no matter if it made NO difference in the outcome - they would likely be primaried.
We don't need to play into that with impeachment hearings, unless there is something that we don't know about that could be a bombshell, like evidence that could impeach Pence first. If that was the case, then I think Pelosi and the Judiciary Committee would go forward. That might be worth losing Senate seats in Red States in 2020, if it laid the groundwork for Trump resigning - because any VP would have to be approved by Congress, and they won't do it.
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