What do the deregulation of natural gas, the attachment of legislative amendments to appropriations bills, a defense authorization bill and the nomination of a U.S. ambassador to El Salvador have in common?

Answer: They all were resolved by a simple majority vote in the U.S. Senate under procedures altered by then-Majority Leader Robert Byrd, D-W.Va.

And now the crafty Byrd is rewriting history. He recently denounced Republican consideration of a parliamentary maneuver designed to clear the way for a simple majority vote on President George W. Bush's judicial nominees.

In blasting the GOP's so-called "nuclear option," Byrd invoked Hitler, Nazi Germany and Mussolini's Italy — drawing condemnation from Jewish leaders.

Beyond Byrd's rhetoric, now a staple among the Howard Dean-led Democrats, it is worth noting that Byrd is condemning Republicans for considering using a tactic that he himself used four times during his tenure as majority leader.