Sen. Orrin Hatch spent his entire question time lambasting the arguments Kagan made as Solicitor General defending campaign finance limits in Citizens United v. FEC, and trying to get Kagan to express her personal views on the case. She declined.

“I want to make a clear distinction,” Kagan said, “between my role as an advocate and any opinions I might have as a judge.”

The result was something of a half-hour soapbox for Sen. Hatch to heap praise on Citizens United (and criticize its critics) while Kagan repeatedly distanced herself from the issue. Hatch might want to take a look at our recent poll, which shows that the critics of Citizens United include the majority of Americans.

It’s remarkable that Hatch, who has always spoken so highly of judicial restraint, is so happy to have judges overruling acts of Congress. Apparently he’s changed his opinion on “judicial activism.”