Conservatives watched as Republican-appointed judge after Republican-appointed judge turned out to be disappointments. They lived through the crushing Planned Parenthood v. Casey defeat. At the time of Justice Antonin Scalia’s death in February 2016, despair set in, and the prospect of seeing Roe overturned within a few years seemed far-fetched.

This victory came, it must be acknowledged, as a result of the hard work and efforts of many people on the right, including those who often have harsh disagreements about the strategy and direction of the conservative movement.

There is a fundamental debate right now among conservatives. One side argues for standing up for certain timeless principles and patiently working within institutions. And the other side is more outcome-driven — skeptical about the idea of playing the long game, scoffing that clinging to broad principles ultimately leads to defeat.

The truth is that Friday’s monumental victory depended on all of these perspectives. It took a mixture of intellectual rigor, commitment to principles, institution-building, and bare-knuckles politics to get to this moment.