Thomas go through because it was a different time and the hatred level of Bush, Sr. was not as high on the left as for our current president. And he was black. They still tried to get him but the hearings were so distasteful that several Democrats feared for their own electoral prospects if they aligned themselves with those distasteful accusations.
Remember the reaction of the public. It was one of embarassment.
Thomas did not get through because he was conservative. He got through because his nomination ceased to be about pro-life vs pro-choice and became about innocent until proven guilty. Anita Hill had no evidence. There was dynamic that unfolded that refusing to confirm would be the equivalent of convicting a man not proven guilty.
That doesn't apply here. This nominee is probably the rightward most candidate who is confirmable. And she's a Christian. It is this last item that makes this brilliant. It forces Democrats to declare themselves anti-Christian.
That hearing was what cemented me as a Republican. (I didn't become a conservative for a full decade later, gradually) But, anyhow, I was 21. And I instinctively knew, just from those hearings, something was very, very wrong and bad about the Democratic party.
Are you sure everyone in the world doesn't already know this? I'm glad we can finally hang the "anti-Christian" label on the Democrats while we're shoveling dirt onto the corpse of the constitution.