Media reports would make you think so….
It ain’t true….
President Trump is moving quickly to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy, whose retirement announcement seems likely to create a solid conservative majority on the Supreme Court for the first time in decades. Although he was appointed by a Republican president, Kennedy earned a reputation as a moderate thanks to his willingness to join the court’s liberal wing in important rulings on gay rights, abortion, affirmative action and somecriminal-justice issues. This track record led many to see him as a crucial bulwark against the court’s growing ideological polarization. In an open letter published in April that begged Kennedy to postpone his retirement, The New York Times characterized him as an “equal-opportunity disappointer” for both liberals and conservatives.
Except that’s not really the case. His sweeping rhetoric on gay rights, combined with a handful of key votes with the liberals in controversial cases, overshadows his track record of conservative rulings on a wide range of other questions.
An analysis of Kennedy’s voting record during his three decades on the court shows that he voted with the court’s right wing in the majority of cases — including controversial, closely decided cases — throughout his career….
image…cnn.com
Kennedy is often described as a”moderate because he is somewhat less “conservative “ on some issues than the other four Republican appointees.
I’m sure though that Kennedy himself would describe himself as a”conservative.”
The same dynamic is at play in the Congress where some conservatives are described as “moderates” because they are less “conservative “ than the better known (and more vocal) right wingers.However, their voting records are usually about the same except on an occasional issue here and there.(see the recent immigration vote)
In fairness, such can apply to Democrats who are almost all at various stages of being “liberal.”