He was first elected over the opposition of many party leaders and probably never set foot in a political clubhouse until he started running for public office.

Though capable judges sometimes emerge, the system emphasizes cozying up to, or even joining, the political clubhouse.

Positions have been filled based on talent and merit rather than party affiliation or proximity to the political clubhouse.

His long career spanned the world of the political clubhouse and the media-driven age of modern politics.

Instead, the boards, often controlled by local political clubhouses, have become fertile breeding grounds for corruption.

Justice was being dispensed in courthouses and not political clubhouses.

These reformers seek to remove the bench from the political clubhouse by expanding the use of merit selection panels.

Any symbol of that system - a new subdivision, a botany lab, a political clubhouse, a car dealership - became a target.

They have abandoned the political clubhouse for the brokerage house.

People involved with the school system contend that the local boards have become little more than new versions of political clubhouses.