Columnist Bud Stevenson, given a recent column, is very concerned about hypocritical Democrats. Yes, hypocrisy does happen in politics. But if Stevenson wants to examine world-class hypocrisy, he needs to look no further than the Republican Party.

If hypocrisy were hurricanes, the party is a Category 10. Why? Here a few examples:

Deficit reduction has long been a principle of the Republicans. Yet they happily jammed through the “Tax Cut and Jobs Act” in 2017, ignoring warnings it would balloon the deficit. Sure enough, in 2018 the deficit jumped by 17 percent, and, according to the Congressional Budget Office, will add $1.9 trillion to the debt over 11 years. Principle? What principle?

Then there is patriotism, something the party prides itself on; the hug-the-flag, love-it-or-leave-it kind. Yet Trump, their party leader, publicly asked Russia, an adversary of the U.S., to help him smear political opponents. Russia kindly obliged. Now it appears he’s done it again, asking for help from Ukraine to dig up dirt on another political opponent. Some Republicans leaped to Trump’s defense, while most were stone silent. How patriotic.

Finally, I think it’s fair to say that another Republican Party principle is a strict interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. Yet when Merrick Garland was nominated for the Supreme Court in 2016, Mitch McConnell looked the Founding Fathers straight in the eye and spat on the Constitution. The Senate’s duty, clearly outlined in the Constitution, is “advice and consent” for nominations. That’s “The Senate,” not the Senate majority leader.

But McConnell took it upon himself to ignore that constitutional requirement and the Senate never got to do its constitutional duty. I guess when it comes to politics, strict adherence to the Constitution only applies when it works in your favor.

Hypocrisy in politics is no surprise. But the Republicans have raised it to an art form, and few in the party seem to care. Whatever works. Principles? Just a convenience.

Dave Reider

Fairfield