TW: The Republicans have been highly successful pushing the Supreme Court to the right. These ratings from US News World Report last year display the magnitude of the tilt. Using justices since 1937, five of the ten most conservatives justices are currently serving on the court, while only one of the most liberal currently resides on the bench.
From USNWR:
"NUMBER OF CONSERVATIVE VOTES ON U.S. SUPREME COURT, 1937-2006
10 "Most Conservative" Justices (bolded justices currently serve on the court)
Justice/% ConservativeVotes
Thomas .822/Rehnquist . 815 /Scalia .757/Roberts .753/Alito .740/Burger .735
O'Connor .680/Powell .677/Whittaker .673/Kennedy .647
Of the top ten liberal votes only one is on the court (or even has been over the past ten years)
Ginsburg .312 "
http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/national/2008/05/12/ranking-the-politics-of-supreme-court-justices.html
TW: Obama will likely have at least two appointments during his first term, should he serve two terms he could nominate one to three more. Unfortunately for progressives the most likely first two appointments will replace progressives, Ginsberg and Stevens, hence Obama will merely be playing defense. The Republicans have not only appointed hard core conservatives but young ones who will likely end up serving for decades on the court.
Obama's nominations will likely make the recent efforts to seat Treasury and Commerce nominees seem like child's play. The conservatives regard the rightward push of the SCOTUS as one of their most successful efforts of the past forty years. They will guard it fiercely.
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