Confirmation hearings for President Trump’s SCOTUS nominee Neil Gorsuch began this week with a strong showing by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals judge. Since Gorsuch is the proposed heir to conservative SCOTUS stalwart Antonin Scalia, Democrats prepared for a contentious battle opposing the nomination.

They asked many gotcha questions, hoping to trip Gorsuch up so he would say something to make him look unqualified. Their goal was to “Bork” him: bring out so many of his past conservative positions that they could — with the help of liberal media — make him look like a far right extremist.

That was the way they defeated President Reagan’s very qualified nominee Robert Bork in 1987. Of course, one key difference is the Senate today is now controlled by Republicans. In 1987, Democrats held a 54-46 majority over Republicans.

Deftly Slipping Around Their Traps

Gorsuch deftly slipped around all of their traps with a friendly smile. He didn’t duck questions, but gave solid answers or explained why it would be improper to answer a question. When Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) asked how he would rule on Trump banning Muslims entering the country, G0rsuch said it would be “grossly improper” to tell how he would rule on a case that’s currently pending. Similarly, he explained that he cannot commit to make rulings on future cases.

The Democrats couldn’t successfully pin many conservative judicial opinions on Gorsuch from his time as an appeals court judge, and he has been involved in very little partisan activity outside of the courtroom.

Democrats attempted to associate the nominee with previous court decisions they didn’t like. One of the most important was Citizens United, which opened the door for unlimited campaign expenditures by third parties like corporations. Gorsuch sidestepped some of those questions, for the reason that he did not author the decisions. He did explain in some cases why the majority ruled the way it did.

At other times, he explained it’s not a matter of agreeing or disagreeing, but following the law. He painstakingly explained to some of the members of Congress that judges merely interpret the law, which is done based on precedent. They don’t make the law. That is the legislature’s duty. He declared, “I don’t care if the case is about abortion or widgets, when a district court makes a factual finding, that deserves our respect.”

When Sen. Feinstein (D-Cal.), asked Gorsuch why he defended George W. Bush’s polices on the war on terror when he was an attorney for the Department of Justice in 2005-6, he said he wasn’t a policymaker at the time, merely a lawyer. He also declined to comment on statements Trump had made about judges, saying that wasn’t his role. “Nobody speaks for me, and I don’t speak for anybody else.”

Gorsuch summary: judges shoudln't be politicians. They should be teachers.

— Carrie Severino (@JCNSeverino) March 21, 2017

The Democrats were unable to successfully pin many conservative judicial opinions on Gorsuch from his time as an appeals court judge, and he has been involved in very little partisan activity outside of the courtroom. As Carrie Severino of the Judicial Crisis Network put it, “If you’ve been on the [circuit court] bench over a decade and a coordinated partisan attack machine can only find 1.5 cases to complain about, you’re good.” Trump wisely picked someone who has very few opinions and statements that can be held against him.

Not Politicians, But Teachers

If there was a theme to Gorsuch’s responses, Severino said it best: “Judges shouldn’t be politicians. They should be teachers.” The Democrats were at a loss how to respond. They tried hard to paint him as a judicial activist, willing to bend the law in order to achieve his partisan ideals, but failed to prove even a single instance.

It is unlikely that the calm, cool and collected Gorsuch will waiver through the rest of the hearings. With Republicans in control of the Senate, it is difficult to see how he can be thwarted. Tellingly, by the time the last hour rolled around on Tuesday, there were no Democratic Senators left to question him.