The past few weeks have shown why it is important for conservatives to push for principled advocates of judicial restraint to the bench.

        Recently, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that Seattle and Louisville must stop using race as the factor in assigning children to schools.  As conservative columnist George Will wrote this week, the unconstitutional process of assigning school children by race "allows white majorities to feel noble while treating blacks and certain other minorities as seasoning--a sort of human oregano--to be sprinkled across a student body to make the majority's educational experience more flavorful."  The high court's decision was the right decision, and represented a departure from a case in 2003 upholding race based preferences at the University of Michigan Law School.

        In April of this year, the newly constituted Supreme Court also issued a decision upholding the 2003 Partial Birth Abortion Ban.  Again, the decision was 5-4.  Just seven years ago, in 2000, the Supreme Court came to the exact opposite conclusion--ruling that a similar ban was unconstitutional if it did not involve an exception for the "health" of the mother.

        So what was the difference in these decisions?  Conservative Justice Alito is voting now, not the "centrist" Sandra Day O'Connor who, thankfully, retired from the court in 2006.  O'Connor used to represent the swing vote on the court, and acted as a liberal/moderate politician rather than a restrained jurist.  Now that role of swing voter has been passed to Justice Anthony Kennedy with mixed results.

        Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Alito, Thomas, and Scalia now represent the conservative block. Justices Stevens, Breyer, Souter and Ginsberg represent the liberal block.  Kennedy is somewhere in the middle.  But where?  Tough to figure.  He seems to choose sides based as much on personal whim than any consistent judicial philosophy.  That is what makes his votes so anxiety inducing.  And that is why we need one or two more conservative, dependable votes on the Supreme Court to make sure the court remains true to its conservative, restrained roots.

        The left has trouble in advancing its agenda at the ballot box.  For a long time, leftists have instead used the courts to do it for them.  To combat this, conservatives must continue to push hard for conservative judicial nominees.  The left hasn't given up the fight.  The leftist smears and poor treatment of Bush judicial nominee Leslee Southwick is one example of this.  Conservatives need to join the battle.