Senate Conservatives Score -- Twice

Thanks to Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, it was a great morning for conservatives on the floor of the U.S. Senate.

First, McConnell delivered 62 votes to end debate on the confirmation of Judge Leslie Southwick, and then 59 votes in favor of confirmation. Judge Southwick will sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

It shouldn't be that big a deal to confirm the president's judicial nominees -- or at least give them an up or down vote -- but we have seen the Democrats stonewall nomination after nomination.

Second, Republican leadership dashed Senator Dick Durbin's DREAM Act, a curiously-named bill to give amnesty to illegal aliens. The Shamnesty proponents will be back, no doubt, but this stops them for now.

The two issues may appear unrelated, but they are not: conservatives stand for the rule of law.