Taranto: Pyrrhus Takes a Victory Lap

OpinionJournal

"Today's 58-42 vote to confirm Samuel Alito represents the second-highest number of votes against a confirmed Supreme Court nominee in the nation's history," boasts Ralph Neas, head of the extremist group that styles itself the People for the American Way. Remember how down in the dumps Neas and his crowd were back in 1987, when by an identical margin the Senate rejected the nomination of Robert Bork?

Ha ha, neither do we! That's because you don't get down in the dumps when you win, and only losers boast about how close it was. A statement from Nan Aron of the so-called Alliance for Justice repeats the trope:

Instead of a judge who would garner wide support from both parties, President Bush chose a divisive nominee who was opposed by nearly every Democratic senator. Other than Clarence Thomas, Judge Alito received more no votes than any Supreme Court nominee in the last 100 years.

Yeah, well, instead of dividing the country, the Democrats could have voted for Alito--as 41 Republicans did for Ruth Bader Ginsburg and 33 for Stephen Breyer. (Voters rewarded Republicans by handing them control of the Senate at the very next opportunity.)

But who cares? As Neas says, "Moral victories are not sufficient." Actual victories, however, are.