Article snippet: The TAKE with Rick Klein This is a hyperpartisan moment. But the only votes in doubt are a handful in the middle – those for whom the partisanship of the moment is noise, or worse. Of the 100 senators, easily 90 – perhaps upwards of 95 – know exactly how they will vote on Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court. Partisan grooves have only deepened in advance of Thursday's hearing. President Donald Trump as well as top Senate Republicans and Democrats have been making their positions – and how strongly they feel about them – more clear, without hearing a public word from Christine Blasey Ford. If this was just about confirming a nominee, the only audience that matters are a few retiring Republicans, a couple of red state Democrats, and a pair of GOP moderates. "The conversation is not rational on either side," one of those moderates, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, told The New York Times. It highlights a paradox of this moment: Kavanaugh will or will not serve a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court based on the judgment of a few people who occupy the center. But the political conversation is being driven inside the parties' bases, where this showdown carries outsize weight as a galvanizing issue. Thursday's hearing may look like a search for answers, yet most of those directing the questioning know what they want to hear and how they want it heard. The RUNDOWN with MaryAlice Parks Executives from some of the world's largest technol... Link to the full article to read more