A couple readers have objected that the number of Dems voting against leftwing “extremists” is just about the same as the number of Republicans voting against rightwing extremists. My guess is this isn’t exactly right, given the large number of squishes in GOP ranks, but I’m sure it’s very, very close to true. I was merely asking because we hear this talking point from Dems so much these days. But as I’ve written many times, the confirmation process creates inconsistency and hypocrisy like few other government functions.