Thursday the Senate voted to advance the gun control debate with a procedural vote to allow a legislation package to move forward. Only two Democrats voted no - including Mark Pryor, the vulnerable Senator from Arkansas.

Pryor has a history of inconsistency when it comes to gun control and Thursday’s vote, being so close to the 2014 re-election campaign, begs more questions on whether the Senator is or is not a proponent of gun control, and whether he is just using this issue to position himself for reelection.

In 2002 Pryor supported an assault-weapons ban and the Brady Bill. In an interview with CNN’s Jonathan Karl, he was asked, “So would you vote, for instance, for the Brady Bill or for the assault weapons ban? Those were key gun control bills.” Pryor responded, “I actually do support those. And I support closing the loophole at gun shows.”

He told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, in reference to his support of the assault weapons ban, that he “knows the difference between placing burdensome restrictions on gun owners and a sensible gun laws that prevent criminals from buying guns or roaming the streets with machine guns,” a line often parroted by gun-control supporters, and scoffed at by Second Amendment advocates.

In March 2004 Pryor voted for the re-authorization of the assault weapons ban and then was quoted in the Democrat-Gazette saying, “I didn’t see how I could vote any other way. … Hopefully, the people back home will understand.”

Thursday, though, on Twitter, Pryor bizarrely blasted the 2013 assault weapons ban - which hasn’t even gone to a vote — claiming that he wouldn’t support it.

AR GOP: AWB ‘13 is completely diff bill-greatly expands restrictions on law-abiding citizens. AR knows I’m strong supporter of 2nd amdt.

— Senator Mark Pryor (@SenMarkPryor) April 11, 2013

Is this shameless political pandering, or is it hypocrisy of the worst kind?