WASHINGTON (AP) — Hypocrisy is nothing new in Washington. The long-running debate over taxes and spending, however, is producing especially blatant examples of politicians contradicting themselves or attacking opponents for taking the very stances they've taken themselves.
Lawmakers, for instance, denounce the deficit but refuse to let the Postal Service close money-losing offices or end Saturday delivery. They force the Defense Department to maintain weapons systems and military bases — located in their home districts, of course — that the Pentagon wants to end.
Cries of hypocrisy grew so loud Thursday that House Speaker John Boehner got into a public spat with his party's chief campaign overseer.
Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., had accused President Barack Obama of "trying to balance this budget on the backs of seniors" by proposing a slower growth in Social Security benefits in exchange for new revenue hikes. Obama's new budget plan "really lays out kind of a shocking attack on seniors," Walden said.
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