Trump’s picks have disappointed conservatives on major cases (which Jim both acknowledges and dismisses), most notably departing from the Alito and Thomas positions that we hoped they’d reinforce — Gorsuch caved on Bostock (transgenderism), Kavanaugh squished on Allen (redistricting), and Barrett upheld Obamacare. While these three are certainly more conservative than Chief Justice John Roberts, it is understandable that Republican voters would like to hear reassurances from a GOP candidate that he’ll find candidates who more closely hew to the views and decisions of the most excellent conservative-justice duo in the Court’s history. We even sometimes joke that the strongest argument for cloning is that a Republican president could theoretically appoint a court of five Thomases and four Alitos.

Call me crazy, but the average Republican does not care about the Federalist Society, Harvard Law credentials, or judicial philosophy if the nominee is going to be swept along by three and a half liberal justices into validating liberal legal fiction.