[nwrep]

I don't think any reasonable person can question whether John Roberts is a conservative.

Recall that he was in the majority on Citizens United and in the minority on Obergefell (Gay marriage) in which he dissented strongly. He was also in the majority on DC vs Heller.

No justice who is for Citizens United or against the legalization of gay marriage and in favor of the 2A cases like Heller is a liberal.

I think the only question is his how consistent is his conservatism.

[bantam]

Well, isn’t this the issue w MOST SC picks by Republican Presidents? Most in my lietime who went left, went HARD left. Others CANNOT be relied upon to vote there conservative principles. Whereas liberal Dem’s MOST ALWAYS vote liberal.

[Stravinsky]

The issue is how he reacts to criticism of "his" Court and how he'll handle major cases where his vote is critical.

Kennedy and O'Connor sided with the right a lot of the time, but they departed when the pressure was really on them. For example, after O'Connor stepped down, Kennedy moved left a bit when he became the true swing vote.

This was not a major case and had no significant media pressure. It's entirely disingenuous to act like those of us who do not like Roberts and have some concerns about Kavanaugh have no reason to be because of cases like this. (Not saying you're doing that, but others are.)

Let's see if Roberts and Kavanaugh are willing to be the fifth vote on issues the left is willing to go to war on like Roe or affirmative action when their votes will make the difference and they aren't merely dissenting from a Kennedy opinion.

[trebb]

I think the only question is his how consistent is his conservatism.

And how susceptible he is to browbeatings by Leftists and whether there was something that he had to fear but has resolved...the Obama Care decision was more than a hiccup....but I agree that he is a conservative with maybe a few frailties that we could do without.