But the round trip must be tiring for those with any capacity for reflection. Listening to Republicans wax enthusiastic about new regulations on HMOs or a prescription drug subsidy program for seniors, you might suppose that the Republican-controlled Congress would be pushing for things like this even if the Democratic Party didn't exist. The Republicans tend to clothe their ideological nakedness with a lot of talk about privatization, using market forces, or simply doing it smaller. They also claim to be doing it better, and they may be right in some cases. Hypocritical posturing greases the wheels of change.
Intellectual dishonesty is a pretty recherche complaint.
Maybe factual honesty is enough to ask from politicians. Forget the fancier stuff. And yes, of course, disingenuousness is not a Republican monopoly. Politicians of all stripes reposition themselves within their slice of the political spectrum as the demands of national vs. local office, or primaries vs. general elections, dictate. These rhetorical tricks are so ingrained in political culture that you can't even call them lies.