From the "Credit where it's due" file.

The whole hypocrisy thing notwithstanding, when he's right, even Rand Paul's right...

In a bigger shift from his campaign pledge to end earmarks, he tells me that they are a bad “symbol” of easy spending but that he will fight for Kentucky’s share of earmarks and federal pork, as long as it’s doled out transparently at the committee level and not parachuted in in the dead of night. “I will advocate for Kentucky’s interests,” he says.

Of course, earmarks are a "bad symbol" in large measure because of the demagoguery of Teapublicans like Paul. It's also true, though, that the earmarking process would benefit from some kind of sunshine reforms. For instance, when Patty Murray uses the earmarking process to steer millions of dollars to critical projects in local communities that might otherwise be overlooked, she's proud of it, and she should be.

Of course, Republicans tend to be more familiar with using the earmark process to bypass hearings and secure those "dead of night" sweetheart deals for their corporate investors, so perhaps their dim pubic reaction to their shady private practices is understandable. I suppose there's some comfort, in fact, in the knowledge that they retain enough humanity to feel enough shame and guilt to lie about who they are and what they do.

There's some comfort, too, knowing how crazy the people who supported the "no more earmarks" Paul when he was lying to get elected are gonna be now that Rand Paul's right.