Consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds these days. 

From Trump, No Respect for Ruth Bader Ginsburg, or the Rules – Frank Bruni, New York Times

“Let me introduce you to Merrick Garland, a figure far less partisan than Kavanaugh and thus much more deserving of a seat on the highest court in the land,” Frank Bruni

The rules are not especially subjective things, but they become surprisingly subjective when useful.

And thus the same partisan Democrats who insisted that there was no rule preventing Merrick Garland’s nomination now insist, just as loudly, that the rules prevent a nomination. That would be a more compelling argument from people who actually believe in those rules when they don’t favor their own cause. Bruni’s snide hectoring about the rules, a hectoring that now fills the media, is hollow because there is no respect for the rules, not by Bruni, or other Democrats, who rapidly shifted from demanding revenge for Merrick Garland to demanding respect for Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who actually didn’t believe in this particular rule.

Rules only work when they’re actually consistently forced and enforced. When they’re not, they’re just means to an end.