Senator Tom Coburn used his opening statement to lecture Solicitor General Kagan on the importance of "strict constructionism."  But maybe before conservatives continue to flog that particular buzz word, they should make sure make sure that the judges they point to are on the same talking points.

Notably, the Justices who are most often cited as strict constructionists themselves reject the term. Justice Scalia has called strict constructionism “a degraded form of textualism,” declaring: “I am not a strict constructionist, and no one ought to be . . . . A text should not be construed strictly, and it should not be construed leniently; it should be construed reasonably, to contain all that it fairly means.  Justice Thomas considers himself an originalist and has not hesitated to construe the text of the Constitution broadly, not strictly, when it comes to executive power and state sovereign immunity.”