Scott de Marchi and Mike Munger, two of my illustrious professors, have published a nice analysis of polarization on the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Raleigh News & Observer. Here’s the conclusion:

[T]here is no room for compromise, no “swing” votes for the chairman to appeal to. In fact, if Specter tries to compromise, his only option would be to turn to the Democrats, forcing a 9-9 tie on the committee…

You can bet that White House strategists are looking at the same Judiciary Committee scenario and seeing that an extreme choice could get through the committee. The opportunity to change policies and precedents for a generation may be too much of a temptation to resist…

In political terms, we have a majority party with no desire to compromise and a minority with no compromise to offer. Don’t worry about the empty middle on the Supreme Court. The problem is the large — and growing — hole in the middle of U.S. society.