If, after careful inspection, his closet is skeleton-free, 10th Circuit Court Judge Neil Gorsuch should be confirmed as the ninth member of the U.S. Supreme Court by 60 or more Republican and Democratic senators – and time is of the essence.

This is not a legal opinion. I have not read Gorsuch’s decisions, nor have I charted his position on pivotal cases. I assume he has been vetted over the course of his competitive academic and legal career and has a sharp mind and passion for justice.

Rumor has it he writes well, too, so I say get this guy on the bench ASAP. We need a functioning Supreme Court right now. This is no time to pick a fight that can’t be won or retaliate for the past political sins of adversaries. Republicans who unfairly obstructed the confirmation of President Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, will get theirs. Karma’s a ditch into which they someday will fall.

What about Roe v. Wade? Am I concerned Gorsuch will overturn the decision and make abortion illegal? A little, but it’s not my main concern, or even in my top five. There is no way to prevent abortion cases from reaching the Supreme Court, and when women’s constitutional rights of privacy are at stake, they can be won on their merits. There is no evidence I am aware of that Gorsuch will rule any other way than by applying the law to the facts. I am not yet cynical enough to believe he has prejudged the issue in a fact-free context. Remember when Chief Justice John Roberts, a Bush appointee, was the fifth vote upholding the constitutionality of Obamacare?

The only power Democrats have right now in Washington is the filibuster; why blow it up in a losing battle? A win for Democrats is to get Gorsuch on the bench with their votes in exchange for his solemn vow to independently uphold the Constitution. Let’s save the filibuster for, perhaps, the next nominee to the court – someone who’s not so qualified or smart, or who may be an extremist or chauvinist pig. Let’s make sure the 60-vote tool is available to stop him.

Why go nuclear over a guy whose only faults appear to be vaulting from the Ivy League to the big league in less than 50 years, fueled no doubt by an ounce or two of white privilege and a strong mother, who under President Reagan was the first woman to run the Environmental Protection Agency? According to The Washington Post, Anne Gorsuch slashed the agency’s budget and ripped up regulations that protected the environment while she wore fur coats, smoked two packs of Marlboros a day and drove around in a government-issued car that got about 15 miles per gallon of gasoline.

You may disagree with her, but I like her style. She ran a tight ship and raised a good boy. It could be worse.

At a time when white supremacists are palling around Washington with religious misogynist ideologues and zealots, the nominee around the corner from Gorsuch could be truly alarming. Gorsuch is a WASP, and WASPs are to the Supreme Court what bees are to honey. He would be the 34th Episcopalian to serve on the court, a bastion of white elite men that until the disruption of Donald Trump’s presidency seemed prime for more diversity. That need indeed remains, but it is not the apex of our needs. The fortification of the institution is paramount. Solid bricks are necessary.

Think of a potential Justice Gorsuch like a well-tuned oil burner in the basement of your lovely, drafty old home. Maybe solar panels, heat pumps, geothermal and/or wind turbines would be better ways get energy, but those alternatives are out of your reach. The price for them is too high, and without heat you would die, so you keep your old machine humming and running smoothly. The oil it burns is refined but not perfect. The heat is warm but not radiant.

Or maybe Gorsuch is like a crusty white dinner roll in a basket on the table. Not made with bleached flour or preservatives, but rather consisting only of wholesome flour, good yeast, sea salt and fresh water, then kneaded and raised by loving hands. Whole-wheat buns and multigrain breadsticks with toasted sesame seeds are good and good for us, but so is a moderate serving of high-quality white bread.

It’s true Trump’s Cabinet is already stuffed with white, airy, often-enriched bread, and such a bland diet provides little sustenance for the rest of us. Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court is not spicy, but Gorsuch appears to be a decent, capable, smart family man who has served honorably as a judge. He embodies the establishment, and a dose of establishment is easier to swallow right now than a plate full of theatrics and chaos.

Trump wasn’t responsible for blocking Garland, Obama’s nominee, and the Supreme Court needs another justice, or hugely important matters could fall fate to a tie vote. Amid political disruption, that’s more drama than meets the public appetite. The president has done his job, and now it’s time for the Senate to confirm the nomination if the upcoming hearings on Gorsuch confirm his good reputation as a jurist, regardless of his political leanings.

Special interest groups dependent on the constant rage and financial support of constituencies will doggedly work to wage their next campaign against Gorsuch, and Democrats should be wary of jumping on that bandwagon too soon. Americans need advice and consent as if the republic depended on it.

Cynthia Dill is a civil rights lawyer and former state senator. She can be contacted at:

dillesquire@gmail.com

Twitter: dillesquire