Oh, the hypocrisy: after blasting George W. Bush and Republicans in general for years over the very existence of prison camp Guantanamo Bay, Congressional Democrats on Tuesday refused to fund closing it.

President Barack Obama’s allies in the Senate will not provide funds to close the Guantanamo Bay prison until the administration comes up with a satisfactory plan for transferring the detainees there, a top Democrat said Tuesday.

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said Obama’s plan to close Guantanamo is not dead—only that the funding will have to wait until the administration devises an acceptable plan to handle the closure and transfer the detainees. Obama has promised to close the military prison by January.

“The administration has not come up with a plan at this point,” said Durbin, who is the whip, or No. 2 Democrat in the Senate. He added that Democrats are likely to address the issue on later legislation. “I think Guantanamo should be closed and we have to wait for the president’s direction on what happens to the detainees.”

What this means in non-political speak is that it will be extremely difficult for Obama to do what he promised. And perhaps he knew that all along: I cannot help but get the impression that Obama is playing good cop in this affair, while allowing his fellow Democrats in Congress to pretend to be tough on terror.

Hypocrisy rules. Again.