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AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

Sen. Orrin Hatch at an April 19, 2007 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), the long-time Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, was very much on the high road today when he told NPR's David Greene that he wants Senate Republicans to turn the other cheek and not treat Judge Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court nomination as shabbily as he believes Democrats treated Republican picks.

Hatch pointed out to Greene how President Barack Obama, as a senator, voted against Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, even though Obama himself acknowledged that the men were highly qualified.

Hatch said:

Let's be honest about it. Let's start with President Obama. President Obama called both Roberts and Alito, now Chief Justice Roberts and now Justice Alito, a compelling life story. He said they were brilliant men, high qualified, and then voted against both of them.

Now there are those in the Republican Party who say shouldn't we apply the same standard the Democrats applied to us? Now I don't personally agree with that. But, on the other hand, I can't blame anybody... if they use the standard that the Democrats used and in some cases smear the Republican nominees. I can just assure you of one thing. There were dozens of people who were treated like crap as they came before the committee. I don't want our side doing that... Our nominees were treated pretty poorly."

So Hatch essentially seems to be saying he hopes his Republican colleagues won't respond in kind but if they do, well, he certainly would understand. Sounds like some real mixed signals there.