In the days when Republicans controlled Congress and the Democrats occasionally resorted to the filibuster, Republicans called it everything short of treasonous, screaming bloody murder whenever it was even hinted at. Undemocratic, they called it–denying a straight up-or-down vote. So hideously wrong even if used rarely, it required the threat of the “nuclear option,” in which they would do away with the procedure once and for all.

Now? The Republican use of the filibuster is such standard practice that they actually brag about anything needing 60 votes to get through Congress, as if the filibuster were an automatic stage for every bill passing through. Republicans not only like the filibuster now, they see it as indispensable and a vital tool for Democracy, and have used it more than any other Congress in history.

How much do you want to bet that if Republicans regained full control of Congress tomorrow, they would instantly turn around and again attack the procedure as something vile and traitorous, as if they had been against it all along? It would not be surprising at all–that’s just the way Republicans roll: attack something inconvenient and then embrace it when they find use; skewer an opponent for doing something and then turn around and do it themselves in spades. And then unashamedly claim the moral high ground and label the other side as flip-floppers.