[SteveH]

Isn't it funny that the leftist side just never happens to nominate judges who turn up being conservative despite a leftist reputation? Republican presidents have nominated folks like Stevens, O'Connor and Souter who have ended up going more and more to the left after their nomination. Clinton's two judges almost always vote on the party line.

No, and I'm no longer taking it as happenstance. Not at the national level, where folks are presumed to play hardball. The implication (IMHO) is that a significant portion of the Republican national leadership is not what it portrays itself to be.

[iconoclast]

The implication (IMHO) is that a significant portion of the Republican national leadership is not what it portrays itself to be.

There's only ONE party ... with a first string and a second string!

And, that party has pretty effectively shut off the emergence of a real opposition party!