I have yet to hear a non-political non-BS reason for the GOP's hold out from meeting and voting on a Supreme Court Nominee. If there was a president Trump and the same situation presented itself in 4 years is there any doubt that they would flip a 180 and support a vote for the nominee??
If the GOP doesn't like the nominated justice then they can simply vote NO. The gridlock is ridiculous and the source for much frustration from Americans... Why can't they just do their jobs?
A perfect justice for a republican: Someone who takes text, history, tradition, precedent when judging a statute to be constitutional.
A perfect justice for a democrat: Someone who takes text, history, tradition, precedent, the purpose of a statute, and the consequences. Notice the last two categories are nothing other than simply rewriting a law from the bench. Not to mention their infatuation with substantive due process.
These are two means of which judges generally differ. For most of our history "text, history, tradition, and precedent" have been the primary means of judging a statute. It wasn't until the New Deal Era when purpose and consequence became a major factor, granting rise to liberal judges who legislate from the bench and transform the U.S. Constitution into an object James Madison certainly wouldn't recognize without so much as a vote of the people, congress, and states who have the sole authority of amending the text.
This judge is big on "purpose" and "consequence." He is therefore a legislator not a judge. Republicans ought not to give him the time of day.