Reaching New Levels of Hypocrisy

Reason does the heavy lifting for me. The topic: filibustering judicial nominees. The hypocrite: Sen. John Kyl (R-AZ).

In 2005, Kyl said this on the Senate floor:

“Republicans seek to right a wrong that has undermined 214 years of tradition – wise, carefully thought-out tradition… My friends argue that Republicans may want to filibuster a future Democratic President’s nominees. To that I say, I don’t think so, and even if true, I’m willing to give up that tool. It was never a power we thought we had in the past, and it is not one likely to be used in the future.”

In last month’s Phoenix Business Journal:

“Kyl … warned President-Elect Barack Obama that he would filibuster U.S. Supreme Court appointments if those nominees were too liberal… [He] said if Obama goes with empathetic judges who do not base their decisions on the rule of law and legal precedents but instead the factors in each case, he would try to block those picks via filibuster.”

*sighs* Once again: The charter flight to my new town in Ireland will begin boarding shortly. Get your tickets now!