My Favorite Liar

Orrin Hatch has always been my Favorite Lying Senator. He mixes an overblown sense of self-righteousness with a pinch of the truth, and great constitutional knowledge with a wonderful history of the senate.

And he has the ability to drop in an instant any inconvenient positions he had taken (with great certitude that they were What the Founding Fathers would Want!) and replace them with his newest political expediency - without the slightest hint of hypocrisy. It is something to be admired, and feared.

For example, you almost never hear old Orrin take credit for the wonderful "blue slip" innovation, which allowed him to stymie Bill Clinton's nominees to the court for years. Yet as soon as a [R]'s got hold of the Presdiency, down the Hatch that rule dropped faster than you can say "blue Gap dress". It seems the process has been modified these days, and a blue slip submitted by a Democratic Senator is given the same weight as a piece of paper that your kindergartner lost while making her last collage.

Hatch really ramps it up today in defense of Judge Samujel Alito - George Bush's tribute to the far right wing for putting up with his incompetence, voting him into office - finally - in 2004, and for jumping "how high" when Karl Rove says the magic word.

Hatch's first whopper: "Neither party should be able to filibuster federal judges."

Yeah, with the blue slip around, who the hell needs to filibuster? It's like a filibuster without the words. Mel Brooks said it best: "It's good to be king."

Hatch then said "Advice and consent" means "up or down vote". His powers to read the minds of Jefferson and Washington are really far better than mine, but this is the lie that will not die. Eveyone in this process knows it means no such thing. Never has, hopefully never will. I am also hopeful that if the [R]'s do nuke the filibuster rule with judges, it's the first tactic we use when we return to power and can start nominating socialist whacko pot-smoking judges again.

None of Hatch's historionics registered with Melissa Block, the host of All Things considered. She ignored his lies and gave a happy little sendoff to our Favorite Lying Senator. She gave him carte blanche to frame the nuclear option however he wanted and disproved once again the theory that NPR is liberal.

There they were, the bald-faced lies of a senator without shame, floating through the air, unhinged from the past, unchallenged by the reporter, and unhindered by logic. They were all unleashed by Hatch, a liar extraordinaire. He's still my favorite.