The court isn't really liberal leaning. Before Scalia died it was a 4-4 spread for the most part. The outlier is Justice Kennedy, who has a libertarian view on things and tends to be the swing vote on 5-4 rulings and has made both what would be considered liberal and conservative decisions.Within what either side of the debate cares for, whether the new justice is liberal or conservative, the situation is not terrible. For one thing, conservatives are fighting a loosing battle. The court already has a liberal leaning so to speak. With scalia gone there are two possibilities. Either they pic a conservative or a liberal. If they pick a conservative then the court would stay more or less as it is. Otherwise it becomes more liberal. So... the best case scenario for conservatives at the moment is for things to remain as they are, in which case they are still fighting a loosing battle. In context it is very unlikely the country is going to regress regardless of who the pick is. It might not advance as fast regarding some issues which is not ideal but overall they will be still be able to advance.