# You get to change one person's political stance for maximum effect. Who do you choose? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 8, 2012, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-change-one-persons-political-stance-for-maximum-effect-who-do-you-choose/634129 "2012-09-08T21:47:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2012, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-change-one-persons-political-stance-for-maximum-effect-who-do-you-choose/634129/21 "2012-09-09T10:18:22Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I would love to hear Rush Limbaugh as a radical leftist. Pay him enough, and he’ll quack like a duck. You don’t suppose he believes the shit that comes out of his mouth, do you? ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2012, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-change-one-persons-political-stance-for-maximum-effect-who-do-you-choose/634129/22 "2012-09-09T14:54:03Z")
You people aren’t seeing the comedic potential here. Ron Paul. Swap him around so he’s a liberal statist and see what happens out there in Paul-land. The hilarity would be immense. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2012, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-change-one-persons-political-stance-for-maximum-effect-who-do-you-choose/634129/23 "2012-09-09T16:56:26Z")
My first thought was Antonin Scalia. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2012, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-change-one-persons-political-stance-for-maximum-effect-who-do-you-choose/634129/24 "2012-09-09T16:58:46Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > Pay him enough, and he’ll quack like a duck. You don’t suppose he believes the shit that comes out of his mouth, do you? But the issue is maximum effect. I think that if Limbaugh became a liberal, he’d soon lose his audience and his effect would be minimal. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2012, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-change-one-persons-political-stance-for-maximum-effect-who-do-you-choose/634129/25 "2012-09-09T17:01:04Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > My first thought was Antonin Scalia. I considered Scalia. But I figure he’s 76 and Alito’s only 62. So I figured I’d get more effect over the long run from converting Alito. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2012, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-change-one-persons-political-stance-for-maximum-effect-who-do-you-choose/634129/26 "2012-09-09T17:09:36Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Samuel Alito This, although any conservative Supreme would do. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2012, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-change-one-persons-political-stance-for-maximum-effect-who-do-you-choose/634129/27 "2012-09-09T21:57:11Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > This, although any conservative Supreme would do. As I said, I thought it over and tried to decide which one would have the maximum effect. I ruled out Kennedy because he’s a fence sitter. Roberts is the Chief Justice but he’s not as big a pusher on ideological issues as others are. Thomas is conservative, but he doesn’t appear to seek to influence his fellow justices. So, to me, it was a choice between Alito and Scalia - both, in my opinion, are not only conservative as individuals but seek to push the legal system as a whole in more conservative directions. If you ask me which justice had been more influential as of 2012, the answer would clearly be Scalia. But if you ask which justice will be more influential in the next twenty years, I think Alito is the likely choice. Alito right now is in the position Scalia was at in 1992 - six years on the court with a long career ahead of him. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-get-to-change-one-persons-political-stance-for-maximum-effect-who-do-you-choose/634129.md?page=1)