"Analysis: Frist flip-flopped on filibusters"
In a piece posted this morning, Tom Curry becomes one of the few mainstream media members to take an honest look at the filibuster situation. Here's the key passage:
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Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Sunday "If what Democrats are doing is wrong today, it won't be right for Republicans to do the same thing tomorrow."
But history shows that Republicans did something similar to the Democrats' filibusters five years ago.
In 1999 and 2000, before he became majority leader, Frist was one of the Republican senators blocking President Clinton's nominee to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Richard Paez.
Frist and others repeatedly prevented a vote on the Paez nomination. In 1999, Frist and 52 other Republicans voted against a motion to proceed to a vote on Paez.
Six months later, Frist voted against cutting off extended debate -- a filibuster -- on the nomination.
Then he voted for a motion to postpone a vote on the nomination.
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Hypocrisy is a powerful and press-friendly theme, and perhaps the most potent weapon the Democrats have in opposing Republican power grabs.
Whether the issue is ignoring state law to invade the sancity of marriage (Republicans on Schiavo), defending corruption (DeLay), or ramming through judicial nominees (Frist), the Republicans' passionate arguments can all be exposed as hypocritical.