Now you see why the Dems and Marxist State Media were so set on derailing Kavanaugh .... without Kavanaugh the ruling would have been 4-4 and the 9th Circus upholding the whacked out Hawaiian judge would have stood .... the same for all other cases for as long as the Dems and Marxist State Media could have delayed.
Well, the decision was rendered while Kennedy was still on the court, hence the 5-4 ruling. He retired the month after SCOTUS decided the issue in Trump's favor.
Your broader point still stands, though. Kennedy was the court's swing vote. The Democrats knew that if Kav was confirmed, it would become a solid conservative majority.
They were right, and I couldn't be more pleased.