Judge Richard Posner, a prominent and highly respected conservative who was appointed by Ronald Reagan, didn't hold back after observing the conservative backlash over Supreme Court Justice Roberts’ opinion upholding President Barack Obama’s health care law.:

"Because if you put [yourself] in his [Robert's] position ... what's he supposed to think? That he finds his allies to be a bunch of crackpots? Does that help the conservative movement? I mean, what would you do if you were Roberts?…All of a sudden you find out that the people that you thought were your friends have turned against you, they despise you, they mistreat you, they leak to the press, what do you do? Do you become more conservative? Or do you say, ‘What am I doing with this crowd of lunatics?’ Right? Maybe you have to re-examine your position."

Posner expressed admiration for President Ronald Reagan and the economist Milton Friedman, two pillars of conservatism. But over the past 10 years, Posner said, “There’s been a real deterioration in conservative thinking …I’ve become less conservative since the Republican Party started becoming goofy..."

You can read more about his comments, and listen to them here: http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2012/07/05/156319272/federal-judge-richard-posner-the-gop-has-made-me-less-conservative