THAT WAS FAST. The ink on Samuel Alito’s nomination to the Supreme Court was barely dry before the chattering classes fell into feverish debate over how it would influence Italian-American voting patterns. Their ensuing ruminations have confirmed at least three things: (1) Like Paris Hilton and Reality TV, identity politics is one of those baleful cultural phenomena that won’t go away; (2) the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) deserves three hearty cheers for eschewing the ethnic card and demanding that Alito “be considered only on his extraordinary merits,” not on his “Italian heritage”; (3) Senate Democrats know Alito will be really, really tough to defeat.

Oh yes, and one other confirmation: When it suits their interests, some Republicans can be just as indulgent of ethnicity-baiting as liberals. The angle must be tempting: Who wouldn’t want to hoist Democrats on their own petard by imputing cultural insensitivity to those who attack Alito’s paper trail. This is an old liberal standby for defending those who belong to a Designated Victim Group. But it poisons political discourse and devalues minority achievement. Pity if Republicans join the fray just because, for a change, the winds of identity politics seem to be blowing their way.