[quote=FlyerInHi]
Very interesting observation. The Supreme Court because of Republican appointment is more conservative than the population, although they caved on gay marriage because they knew that upholding marriage discrimination would be untenable to a younger public. [/quote]
I’m not sure I totally agree with this. Justice Kennedy has some libertarian leanings that frustrate both Democrats and Republicans at times. He’s the swing vote that keeps Roe v. Wade intact, and was also arguably the swing vote on DOMA. Yet he also voted to give GW Bush Florida over Gore, and is a big proponent that campaign spending is a form of Free Speech. In particular in the last 10 or so years, Kennedy’s overall opinions have drifted slightly liberal.
I suppose you can float the argument that the conservative justices are VERY conservative (Alito, Scalia and Thomas in particular, with Roberts being more middle of the road conservative) while the liberals are somewhat less heavily liberal. In practical terms this just means the conservatives are slightly more likely to peel off an extra vote for a 6-3 decision rather than much of a difference in real policy. Most of the time, as goes Kennedy, so goes the court, and although his individual positions can differ from the population, overall I’m not sure he’s too far off from the middle.
