As attention focuses on the lack of people at Treasury to help the beleagured Tim Geithner, Dems–with a helping hand from the MSM– naturally try to shift the blame to Republicans, accusing them of holding up nominations.  We just had a perfect example of the phenomenon as—with an assist from Andrea Mitchell—John Kerry decried the intrusion of “partisan politics” into the confirmation process. Mitchell wanted to “clear up what you’re talking about,” explaining to viewers that “it’s probably Republicans” who have put holds on nominees.  Thanks, Andrea.

But I found myself wondering: has the great junior senator from Massachusetts ever held up nominations himself?  It took me all of 30 seconds of Googling to find out that–surprise!–he had. Take the nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court in 2006.  Alito was unquestionably qualified.  But guess who was leading a procedural charge to block a vote on the nomination?

“Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts was lobbying his Democratic colleagues to filibuster the Alito nomination.”

Let’s go back a few more years, to 2003, and Pres. Bush’s nomination of Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt to head the EPA. Who do you think might have been been trying to block a vote then?

“Clinton and three Democratic presidential contenders in the Senate — Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, John Kerry of Massachusetts and John Edwards of North Carolina — led an effort for weeks to block a vote on Leavitt, to make an issue of Bush administration environmental policies.”

Think any “partisan politics” might have been behind Kerry’s procedural machinations to block these confirmation votes?

John Kerry.  Not just haughty.  A haughty hypocrite.