Yesterday the NY Times had an interesting article on just how far to the right the Supreme Court has shifted. It's clear that there are two four-person contingents on the court, on the one side being the Thomas/Scalia/Alito/Roberts bloc and on the other the Souter/Ginsburg/Breyer/Stevens bloc. Justice Kennedy has become the new Sandra O'Connor, the wildcard who often decides the majority with his vote. Steven Calabresi, a former law clerk to Justice Scalia and a founder of the Federalist Society, is quoted as saying, “Kennedy is very much the median justice now, as Justice O’Connor was, and he is to her right...Clearly the court has moved in a direction that leaves most conservatives pleased.”

While indeed Kennedy is no centrist, at least he's shown some independence to not always vote with the Scalia crew. However, the damage has been done. We face many more 5-4 decisions in the future that heavily favor the far right.