I don’t agree with your charecterization of the Bork nomination. It wasn’t Reagan that was being polarizing. It was an unprecedented and unfair attack on Bork, primarily innuendo and subtext, huge orchestrated campaign against him by the Dems. Unexpected because it was something new; unfair because it was untrue in its essential charge of racism.
but Bork was polarizing. you want conservatives you can just slide right into the SC.