Housing markets are red hot, with prices up more than 18% from November 2020 to November 2021. That’s an acceleration over the previous two years, which saw increases of 4% and 8% each. It’s also a faster rate than the U.S. experienced during the housing boom of the 2000s that preceded the Great Recession.

Four of the last 14 vacancies on the Supreme Court arose when different parties controlled the White House and a majority in the Senate. In those cases, the president’s initial nominee didn’t make it through half the time. When the president and the Senate were allied, on the other hand, 9 of 10 initial nominees were confirmed.

For at least a generation, conservatives have cared about the courts a lot more than liberals have.