Sen. Orrin Hatch (R., Utah) to National Review Online on his vote against Goodwin Liu, President Obama’s controversial lower court nominee, who cleared the Judiciary Committee today on a 12-7 vote:

Liu is a radical. He may be a bright, articulate law professor, but a lot of his statements are off the wall. He’s certainly an activist in nature. We don’t need more avant-garde liberals. We need more conservatives.

Does Hatch’s vote on Liu signal anything about how he’ll vote on the whether to confirm Elena Kagan, President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee?

Who knows . . . this president has made a point to nominate progressive liberals. I assume she will fall into that category. What I’m concerned about is whether she respects the law and the Constitution. I want to make sure her personal feelings or predilections will not play a role. That still has to be determined.