I suspect that the GOP will fnd its senses and confirm Justice Merrick Garland. The Democrats will grudgingly go on, knowing that President Clinton will have at least two appointments in her first term.
Garland will change the court but in ways that are not at all like the fevered claims of The Donald. Garland is true strict constructionist. He will teach us all that the real problem today for the GOP is that the Constitution, after two centuries is still a progressive document.
The fact is that the Constitution did not estabish the SCOTUS as a Constitutional court, but the court itself, under Justice Marshal took on that role because the new US learned quickly that it could not function without a court to rule on what is and is not law. Moreover, they, Marshal and the founders, understood that the Contusion would need to be adapted to the times, still acting in terms of the original intent. For example, the founders did not know how conception worked. Given the lack of knowledge in the 1700s I doubt the Court would have approved of Roe vs. Wade. Given our modern knowledge of embryology I believe Roe would have been inevitable at least for the first 20 weeks of a pregnancy.
The Heller decision is not at all the intent of the Constitution and, in fact, the founders needed to face up to this because they had to put down the sort of militia-led violence supported by today’s NRA. Taken literally Heller implies that I can buy my own nuke or even just a few Stinger surface to air missiles.
That is absurd. As Mrs. Clinton said, Heller was wrong. I think the same is true of SCOTUS decisions that do not recognize that the US in no longer the federation of independent states. We need national laws that regulate commerce and equalize opportunity .. like Obamacare.
All that said, I am not sure a strict constructionist court will support all of the left dreams. Abortion after 20 weeks might not be what the founders intended. I also doubt they would have approved of same sex marriage.