It could be seen as a great statement on Alito.
Perhaps more Dems would have voted against Alito if he hadn't convinced the American people that the was the right guy for the job ...
smarter and kinder than the Dems who were criticizing him.
I see it this way:
Dems voted for cloture to appeal to the moderates in the Democrat party, then voted against Alito on the floor vote to try to appease the left-wing kooks in the party. The thing is, the kooks will not find this acceptable.