The wave of public dissatisfaction that brought Ronald Reagan to the presidency in 1980 trickled down to the judiciary through 12 years of GOP appointments. By the time Bill Clinton was elected in 1992, the Democratic Party had responded to the national move to the right by divesting itself of many of its more liberal elements. Accordingly, Clinton's appointees have hewed to a moderate path. These four justices are concerned with legal authority, rather than social ideals. They have a broader vision of the Constitution and federal law than the Rehnquist conservatives, to be sure, but rather than expressing an overarching judicial philosophy, they tend to take cases as they come.
Pragmatism is their watchword.
When the justices curtailed the scope of federal law protecting disabled workers from discrimination, Souter and Ginsburg signed on. And when the majority limited the First Amendment rights of illegal aliens, Stevens, Ginsburg and Breyer were with them to a considerable degree. Only Souter dissented. Even when the four justices did band together to vote against the conservative majority's judgment, they were heavy on legal precedent, light on overarching principle or moral outrage. It was in decided contrast to the passion of dissenting justices exactly 10 years ago when a narrow majority similarly restricted the reach of civil rights job protections, and Blackmun let loose an emotional tirade questioning whether the majority even realized race discrimination still existed.