Sometimes the irony and the hypocrisy in American politics is just too rich to ignore. Another hilarious, classic case comes to us from the closely contested race in West Virginia’s 3rd District, where Nick Rahall (D-WV 3) is fighting to hang on to his seat against Republican challenger Evan Jenkins. Rahall and his friends are upset about outside groups spending money on this race, so much so that they’re all getting together for a rally to declare that West Virginia is not for sale!

The City of Logan is set to host the West Virginia Democratic Party on Saturday for a state-wide political rally.

Governor Earl Ray Tomblin and the West Virginia Democratic Party will host a “West Virginia is Not For Sale” Democratic Unity Event to rally and mobilize West Virginians for victory in November. The event is open to the public.

In attendance will be: Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, Secretary of State and U.S. Senate candidate Natalie Tennant, Congressman Nick Rahall and WV Democratic Party Chair Larry Puccio.

That should show all those nasty, big money groups. And it’s good that Rahall is so adamantly opposed to outside spending, particularly since a golden opportunity arose to put his lack of money where his mouth is. Jenkins made him the kind of offer he clearly couldn’t refuse.

Friday morning, Jenkins proposed a ban on all spending by outside groups and on campaign donations from political action committees — after such groups already have played a significant role in the campaign for both candidates…

Jenkins’ proposal would have required both candidates to reject all spending from groups that are unaffiliated with the campaign.

Problem solved, right? And I’m sure Congressman Rahall was not only gracious, but thrilled to have the chance to reach out to his opponent and join together on this important subject. So how did he phrase his acceptance?

About two and a half hours later, Rahall’s campaign emphatically declined to participate, saying it was too late.

It takes a special brand of political cojones to hold a rally against outside spending only 24 hours after refusing a pledge to forgo such funding. But let’s see if we have Rahall’s policy straight here. So… outside money is bad, unless it’s being spent on me? Got it. Thanks for the clarification, Nick!