Clarence Thomas is notably the least loved justice in a historically hated court
https://thehill.com/homenews/4019788-poll-thomas-has-highest...
And if we are talking about numbers that don’t matter, republicans won the Congressional popular vote four of the last seven times (by three million votes in 2022) and are on pace to in it again.
You can also look at the generic congressional ballot polling, where republicans regularly are ahead.
Well, kind of fair, with that caveat that this means even less Americans are likely to agree with Clarence or this ruling.
I'd say Thomas is to the right about what Ginsberg was to the left - the favorite of the core of their respective parties.
The recent controversy around Thomas's behavior did not spring up because his opinions on governance date back to his appointment, but because--to the outside observer--it looks like he is perfectly comfortable with selling his opinion to the highest bidder. Lifetime appointments are supposed to keep judges aloof from external influences, but it seems like that logic failed in this case.
Of all the currently-service Justices, the only one who has deviated from the perspective of the President who appointed them would probably be Roberts - and that statement is mostly based on a single ruling. It's not like he's well-loved by the left.
Why should I believe his decisions are about principle when money is changing hands?