Here's a Possible Kavanaugh Scenario, Step-by-Step:

[MineralMan]

1. FBI comes back with ugly evidence on Kavanaugh - Tells Trump

2. Trump Consults McConnell - Tells him Kavanaugh is toast but don't say anything

3. McConnell calls the vote early, knowing it will fail

4. Kavanaugh is not confirmed

5. Trump and McConnell blame Democrats for no confirmation

6. Kavanaugh skates; keeps appeals court seat; FBI info is squashed

7. Trump appoints Ima Ringer to SCOTUS

8. Out of relief, Ima Ringer breezes through confirmation in a week.

Note: Sketchy, but possible. Maybe even likely.

[bigtree]

1. after Kavanaugh

...the trend would seem to favor more scrutiny on nominees, not less.

step 8:

There's not time. There's an election coming up, and Senators won't go along with remaining in DC for the inevitable shitshow.

[democratic friend]

4. Only 21 will stay back. The rest will go campaign

No way will Democratic Senators let the process go without them. Republicans can hold hearings and vote accordingly as long as they have 51 votes. So 11-0 out of committee and 51-0 out of senate. Democratic senators won’t just leave.

[Awsi Dooger]

2. Not even close to likely

There's a reason an 8-team parlay pays 255/1 in man to man terms

[unblock]

3. They'll appoint some pond scum during the lame duck session.

If they can find someone who hasn't raped anyone....

[pecosbob]

5. I think this became their plan

as soon as Flake made his call for continued investigation, if Flake's recalcitrance wasn't part of the plan all along to create an escape route from the attrocious optics of ramming the nomination through. I don't think the GOP will get a lot of votes from femmes in November. I do predict ratf*cking, voter disenfranchisement and vote tally manipulation as we have never before seen.

[Natron]

6. FBI

Even if they find something, It is going to be hard for the FBI to admit they missed it 6 times already.
I could be wrong.

[MineralMan]

9. Different investigation.

FBI don't care.

[Hortensis]

11. No. Likely FBI won't have missed a thing.

Normal FBI background checks go back maybe 7-10 years, Natron, not 30, and not even in that period do they try to find everyone who ever intersected the subject just in case an unsuspected crime was committed and never reported to the police.

Also, I don't believe their current scope includes perjury not related to the sex allegations, but perjury committed during these hearings had not happened yet during those earlier checks.

[4139]

8. Watch trump make a recess appointment of Kavanaugh fails to make it

The day after the midterms😡

[MineralMan]

10. I don't know about that.

Too far ahead.

[Hortensis]

12. "Ima Ringer"? :) It'll be one of the other names on the short list

culled from the longer list of suitably anti-abortion, pro-business, anti-regulation, authoritarian ultraconservatives the Heritage Society provided.

No ringer, just another of the ideology we don't want on the court all ready to slot in. I read they've been mostly or entirely vetted already.

[MineralMan]

13. Yes. I don't have any idea

who might be next.