It has been suggested that the Democrats should refuse to participate in the confirmation hearings in order to make a statement about the illegitimacy of the nomination. Is that a good idea?
No. It will help the Republicans move the nomination through the Senate at warp speed, and it will make it impossible to ask the kinds of questions that need to be asked during the hearings.
There is only one positive element to a boycott; it would prevent the use of the politics of personal destruction against the nominee. The seriousness of the occasion transcends that kind of approach.