A recurring problem faced by conservative Republicans is this: when they play by the rules, they end up losing the game anyway.  That’s because the left-wing Democrats are hypocrites who refuse to abide by the same set of rules they demand others play by.

There are numerous examples of this.  In 1992, then-senator Joe Biden argued that President Bush should not fill any Supreme Court vacancies until after the election; this year, Democrats demanded that Republicans confirm Mr. Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland.

In 2005, Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) opposed changing the Senate filibuster rules when he was in the minority.  But when Reid became majority leader after his party gained control, he reversed course and did exactly what he had previously opposed.

The latest example of shameless Democratic hypocrisy comes courtesy of Chuck Schumer, who is in line to become majority leader next time Democrats gain control of the Senate.

Schumer, along with several other Senators and numerous members of the House, staged a 24-hour “sit-in” on the House floor to demand votes on gun control.  (Yes...Democrats actually believe that stripping the American people of their Second and Fifth Amendment rights is a “civil rights” issue justifying a 1960s-style sit-in.)

Predictably, milquetoast “establishment Republican” speaker Paul Ryan refused to have the protesters arrested or removed by the House sergeant-at-arms.  So the Democratic protesters got away with their misbehavior.

Now, dear reader, what do you suppose would happen to you if you joined a conservative group that employed 1960s-style sit-in tactics to oppose – oh, let’s say, abortion – in front of an abortion clinic?

Well, it just so happens that we know the answer to that question, because a lot of people did exactly that in the early 1990s.  And the very same Chuck Schumer who was part of the “sit-in” for gun control yesterday threw the book at them.

Back in 1993, Schumer was the House sponsor of the FACE (Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances) Act.  It successfully shut down Operation Rescue and other anti-abortion civil disobedience by creating draconian penalties for violators that include prison sentences from one to three years and fines between $100,000 and $250,000.

So, obstructing the House of Representatives and throwing a tantrum when you can’t get your way through the normal legislative process outlined in Article I of the Constitution is just fine and dandy if Chuck Schumer does it.

Do the same in front of an abortion clinic, and Schumer & Co. will have you thrown in prison and bankrupted by fines.

Hypocrisy, thy name is Schumer.