The appointment of a Supreme Court associate justice can affect a myriad of government policies — federal, state, and local. And today’s Supreme Court is precariously balanced. It includes justices who would use the court’s power to reinterpret the Constitution to advance the cause of “social justice” as they see it, and justices who view their job as to determine the constitutionality of laws based on the doctrine of the original drafters.

Judge Brett Kavanaugh has been appointed to fill the seat of retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy, a man who was the quintessential swing vote. Several of Kennedy’s opinions were supportive of the four justices that leaned towards strict interpretation of the Constitution, while others favored the four Justices who supported the “living” Constitution concept. Positive thinking among conservatives is that Kavanaugh would not dance between left and right; that he would support a strict interpretation of the Constitution.