Amy Coney Barrett and the Alternative Elite

There’s something deeper and stranger about the opposition to Amy Coney Barrett than to other nominees. It’s not just the way she might change the ideological weight of the court, as a conservative replacing the liberal Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It’s not exactly her faith either, although that’s part of it. One senses that there’s an unsayable aspect to it. It’s not just her religion — she’s assumed to be a doctrinally orthodox and charismatic Catholic — though religion is a part of it.

As hearings are about to begin, we...