Senator Reid just emphasized (right before complaining that Judge Alito is a white male) that Judge Alito was nominated to replace Justice O’Connor “national icon” who has served as a “voice of moderation” for more than two decades. Of course, as Stuart Taylor pointed out brilliantly a few weeks ago, it is easy to imagine what today’s Senate Democrats would say about a nominee who shared the views of Justice O’Connor on questions of federalism, criminal procedure, religious freedom, capital punishment, etc. And, as I wrote recently, when it comes to religious-freedom questions, Judge Alito is, in fact, an eminently worthy successor to Justice O’Connor.