There are two facets to the democratic strategy. First they want the right to turn on Alito for being to liberal. This guy as nicknamed Salito for being so like Scalia.
Some will say that He and Scalia will not always agree. Well Scalia and thomas don't always agree.
The Democrats learned their less in when opposing Ronald Reagan. They thought they could defeat Reagan by painting him as a right wingers right winger. They thought that would drive the middle away. It did not work.
What they have found is that they need to paint a person on the right as if he is a secret liberal. That works both ways. the liberals hate a fake liberal, and the right will turn on a fake liberal.
For Democrats it is the best possible attack on a conservative. The media knows the way to destroy someone on the right is to accuse them of being on the left.
The Democrats now know that had they painted Reagan as a closet Democrat that LBJ could love, Jimmy Carter would have served two terms.
The left will do the following. Before then hearings a new story painting Alito as a closet leftist will be published at least once a day.. To drive the right away from supporting Alito. The leftist senators will make statements that they may vote for Alito's confirmation That will make some of the right turn on Alito.
Then in the hearings they will express total surprise and attack Alito for being way too far right wing.
If they drive enough of the Right into opposing Alito the hearings and Drive the left into opposing Alito during the hearings Alito will be gone.
It's clear, especially following the Roberts' and Miers' cases, that some on the right turn very quickly on one of our own if they see a hint of liberalism.............even if it's planted by a leftist media.
This is very clear in the case of Alito whose record is long and clear. It's just not going to work this time.