That's because we have no idea what this guy thinks, and meanwhile everyone on the right has embraced "dont ask dont tell" as the strategy.
Consider all the conservatives sent that over the years become leftist. Consider the judges with good conservative credentials who drift left.
What good is it being a celebrity judge or senator or congressman, if NO one will talk to you????
Thomas would be drifting left by now, but they made the mistake of demonizing him too much, no one would have anything to do with him any way. Thus, if anything, a drift to the right.
They are correcting the mistake with roberts. They denied him two nominations. Spent a few years softening him up and then let him on. He is known to run in all the best circles. This guy is GUARANTEED to be a souter, otherwise he will be left out.
solution? Move the capital to the middle of america and make dc a historical theme park.
I agree with much of what you say. In a post a couple of days ago (when Clement was the rumored nominee) I said that the stealth strategy effectively concedes that the 'Rat definition of "mainstream" is the accurate one. With a 55 seat majority the GOP should have forced a showdown and established strict constructionism as the new mainstream. By following the stealth strategy, the GOP is basically saying, "Hey, our guy isn't out of the mainstream....he's never written any articles criticizing Roe or opposing the Massachusetts gay marriage ruling."
So the result is that these nominations are fought on 'Rat ideological turf. Hostile 'Rats like Schumer can scream that the nominee threatens "a woman's right to choose" and opposes "extending basic human rights to gays & lesbians." In response, our guys say, "You can find nothing in his record to back up what you're saying." It's as if we take it as a given that Schumer's concerns are legitimate and rational to begin with.
I'm cautiously optimistic about Roberts, but I must admit it's based on pure gut instinct and not much else.