I would also be hesitant to draw huge conclusions from just two cases. They didn't even concern the same amendment. There's nothing surprising about the "conservative" faction upholding the first amendment -- they've done it plenty of times. More important would be a ruling where they uphold voters' equal protection rights when those voters are democrats. Not to say that I'm convinced that the court is biased by politics, but this one case doesn't assuage my fears after the election 2000 decision.