You need to know this . . .

. . . if you should find yourself in a conversation with one of Them.

First the Republicans blamed the Democrats — Minority Leader Sen. Harry Reid in particular — for defeating the immigration reform bill. Not true. What happened was that the Democrats succeeded in blocking the strategy that Senate Republicans intended to use to chip away at the legislation, known as the McCain/Kennedy bill. The Democrats called it “filibuster by amendment.” I watched with my own eyes as Frist stood there asserting the need to hear at least some of the 400-plus (!) amendments and offering to make lots of time available.

Now, in the House, more shenanigans exposed by TalkingPointMemo’s Muckraker.com:

Just goes to show the difference between smart and clever, two words often used to suggest intelligence. The Republicans are cleverer by half than Democrats, but hardly smart: How else to explain that they are Republicans in the first place?