AnalPhilosopher

They're politicians, Keith. Unfortunately, this is (generally speaking) what they do.

Kinda make used car salesmen look good - no?

The right frequently accuses the left of hypocrisy and applying double standards. This reflects a serious misunderstanding of the left.

The left tends to be consequentialists, while the right tends to be deontologists. Therefore, many on the left are being perfectly consistent and not the least bit hypocritical when they apply their philosophy that their desired ends justify any means. When filibusters serve their desired ends, they are for filibusters, when they do not, they oppose filibusters; if an "original intent" reading of the constitution serves their ends, they support strict construction, if not, they then espouse the "living document" theory and "evolving standards"; if the judiciary has set precedents with which they agree (e.g. Roe vs. Wade), then they support a restraint on judicial activism and the judiciary's adherence to "established law," but if the judiciary has set precedents with which they do not agree (e.g. the sodomy case in Texas), they support judicial activism and reversal of precedent, etc., etc. If the left cannot obtain their ends democratically through the ballot box and legislative process, they will try to achieve their ends through fiat by activist judges. To the left, the checks and balances associated with adherence to the processes and means of change built into our Federal Democratic Constitutional Republic form of government are nuisances to be avoided, circumvented, or eliminated in pursuit of their ends.

In contrast, to many on the right, the preservation of and adherence to the processes and checks and balances of our system of government as the means to achieve ends is as important as the ends one is striving to achieve. In other words, preservation of these means and processes and the checks and balances of our form of government is an important end in itself to preserve equality before the law and the rights and freedoms of all citizens and to ward off tyranny.

The left is not hypocritical and does not apply double standards. It has one standard – anything goes if it advances their ends. To attack the left for hypocrisy is useless – they cannot be shamed for being inconsistent in the application of principles to which they do not actually subscribe. They may pose for the moment to hold certain principles or traditions as “sacred,” but it is nothing more than cant. Understanding the left for what they actually are, rather than what they temporarily pretend to be at any given time, is essential if those on the right hope to thwart the left’s agenda and preserve our rights and freedoms.