How do you define hypocrisy?

Six years ago, "it was standard practice not to pay for things," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.

That's how the Republicans in the Senate are framing their vote for the expansion of Medicare in 2003, and why they oppose the current health care plan. You see, according to Republican senators, it's okay to flip flop if you're Republican.

But to be sure, there are some serious Conservatives outside of the beltway, that know exactly what's at stake:

"As far as I am concerned, any Republican who voted for the Medicare drug benefit has no right to criticize anything the Democrats have done in terms of adding to the national debt," said Bruce Bartlett, an official in the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. He made his comments in a Forbes article titled "Republican Deficit Hypocrisy."

Bartlett said the 2003 Medicare expansion was "a pure giveaway" that cost more than this year's Senate or House health bills will cost. More important, he said, "the drug benefit had no dedicated financing, no offsets and no revenue-raisers. One hundred% of the cost simply added to the federal budget deficit."

The pending health care bills in Congress, he noted, are projected to add nothing to the deficit over 10 years.

Oh, the hypocrisy.

(via USA Today)