The Roberts Court - Supreme Court Clerks, Like Justices, Lean Left or Right - NYTimes.com

The Roberts Court - Supreme Court Clerks, Like Justices, Lean Left or Right - NYTimes.com: "Justice Clarence Thomas apparently has one additional requirement. Without exception, the 84 clerks he has chosen over his two decades on the court all first trained with an appeals court judge appointed by a Republican president.
That unbroken ideological commitment is just the most extreme example of a recent and seldom examined form of political polarization on the Supreme Court."

The Roberts Court - Supreme Court Clerks, Like Justices, Lean Left or Right - NYTimes.com

 "“Law is a craft and profession that in many ways transcends philosophy.”"

WASHINGTON — Each year, 36 young lawyers obtain the most coveted credential in American law: a Supreme Court clerkship. Clerking for a justice is a glittering capstone on a résumé that almost always includes outstanding grades at a top law school, service on a law review and a prestigious clerkship with a federal appeals court judge. The Roberts Court - Supreme Court Clerks, Like Justices, Lean Left or Right - NYTimes.com:

The stark political divide among the clerks is recent.

 “The Supreme Court clerkship appeared to be a nonpartisan institution from the 1940s into the 1980s,” according to detailed data in the Vanderbilt study.

At the Supreme Court, Judge Calabresi continued, the ideological leanings of clerks may sometimes have an impact.

“To the extent that justices are really strong, it doesn’t matter,” he said. “To the extent that justices are uncertain or weak, it can make a difference.”

Like to take note of the fact the quote about justices being 'really strong' or 'uncertain or weak' does not translate into being 'right' or 'wrong'. 

However, it's much harder to appear strong when one is a liberal who  realizes life is more complicated than most people care to hear where they were wrong.

Liberal groups push to exploit Target backlash - Yahoo! Finance

Liberal groups push to exploit Target backlash - Yahoo! Finance: "Protesters have been rallying outside Target Corp. or its stores almost daily since the retailer angered gay rights supporters and progressives by giving money to help a conservative Republican gubernatorial candidate in Minnesota. Liberal groups are pushing to make an example of the company, hoping its woes will deter other businesses from putting their corporate funds into elections."

The flap has revealed new implications of a recent Supreme Court ruling that appeared to benefit corporations by clearing the way for them to spend company funds directly in elections. Companies taking sides in political campaigns risk alienating customers who back other candidates.