Reply #36: You are describing political motive. That is not the same as hypocrisy or the same as "gaming the

[No Elephants]

system."

Legislatures are peopled by politicians and politicians make political choices when filling vacancies. Legislatures also change and amend laws from time to time. And changes to laws governing vacancies are highly likely to be motivated by political considerations. The people who wrote the Constitution of the US and the 17th amendment thereto understood all that.

If the Constitution intended for these decisions to be politically motivated AND to change from time to time, how is this either hypocrisy OR gaming anything?

What if I put out a platter of munchies with a sign saying "Free munchies. Help yourself to all you can eat." And then, someone took a couple of handfuls and left. Would you accuse that person of hypocrisy and gaming the system?

You might also look at some of the previous threads here on the subject of Kennedy's request to change the law to fill the vacancy in his seat. All the points you raised have been addressed over and over.