I'm not an alarmist but I wasn't born yesterday either. Souter, Stephens and Kennedy were given to us by good Republican Presidents which means appointing Justices to the SCOTUS is a very tricky business.
Being concerned because Dubya appointed somebody with no appellate record to speak of is not abnormal, it logically follow the past 30 years of appointment history.
i choose not to be snakebitten.
besides that fact, gay rights aren't my only qualifier.
This judge is ardently pro-life for example...