This is a serious question, mind, but does anyone actually believe that Alito is making his argument in good faith? I mean, I can’t see how that’s possible, but people still act like they do believe this. Am I missing something?

The error is believing Alito has any consistent principles. There’s no concern for setting a precedent because he can just rule the opposite way later when the defendant is a liberal. No process at all, just the end result he wants. His staff can write up some mumbo jumbo to justify it