The senior liberal on the Supreme Court, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, 87, died Friday afternoons from complications due to a previous cancer condition. She is survived by a son and a daughter.

The fight to replace her will make the Brett Kavanaugh fight look like a summer picnic, as it promises to be political drama of the highest caliber. What are the primary factors? It’s all about timing.

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There must be an unholy haste on the part of the president to get this done and approved by the Senate. A chance like this, to nail down the court for the Right and all that comes with it, may not come again for decades. He should announce his choice on Monday.

The Democrats will do all they can to stall and claim the country will slip into a fascist night if Trump and the GOP Senate get the pick. If the president is smart, while he still is undoubtedly president, he will damn the decorum and use every trick and then some to get Judge Amy Coney Barrett confirmed as the next justice on the court.

Both presidential campaigns must be on red alert tonight and this topic will play a large role in the first debate, if there is one, in less than two weeks. But the advantage is with Trump if he acts quickly and names Barrett. It would also make the Democrats campaign against Barrett, an accomplished and telegenic woman with a spotless record. Though Democrat opposition researchers will try and smear her much worse than they did Brett Kavanaugh. It will be a bloody battle for both sides and, as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Lindsey Graham will be up to his neck in it. He has a real race this time in South Carolina. This will help him there.

GOP political operative Stacy Shea comments, “Justice Ginsburg was an inspirational figure for girls and women who aspire to positions of leadership. Her iconic place as one of three women who served on the current Supreme Court is a lasting piece of our history and proof that in America women are recognized for being every bit as capable to serve on the Supreme Court as men. As such, her vacant seat should be filled by another woman…There’s going to be a lot of gnashing of teeth over the inevitable nomination Trump will make. Liberals will say a liberal judge should be nominated to replace her. Nonsense. We’ve been playing ping pong with the ideology of the respective justices since almost the beginning of the nation. Why should this be any different?”

Mitch McConnell must do his bit in the Senate to get the deal rammed through. That’s where the trickery comes in. All Democrats and some squish Republicans will want to delay until next year. But the opportunity to keep a solid conservative majority on the court for another generation could be gone by January. That’s why McConnell must somehow come up with the 51 votes and pronto. His statement of Friday night is reassuring in that regard. He said any Trump nominee will get a vote in the senate.

Barrett on the high court could be an insurance policy in case of a Biden win. That potential conservative vote on the court will spur both sides to the polls. Advantage Trump, as the increased drama will play into his sense of showmanship and deal making. This question may come to overshadow all others until November and don’t be surprised to see Democrats and the press now say: What virus? Which again, helps Trump.

For all these reasons and more the president must act quickly and forcefully. He must lock in a conservative court no matter what happens in November.