Republicans have been doing this for a long time

yes...

and not a peep.

[citation needed]

the most obvious counter-example that comes to my mind was the news, about a year ago, that Beanie Baby was getting paid $100k per episode by Russian-linked sources

that was reported by the AP, NPR, CNN, etc.

if you think people on the left weren't saying anything about that, pick your favorite "left-wing" news outlet and search their archive to see if they covered it. for example, this from the Daily Beast was on the first page of search results for "Tim Pool Russia". here is Mother Jones. here is them.us.

also, can you be more clear about what specifically you're saying? in other words, is it:

a) Republicans have been doing this for a long time, and that's OK, and Democrats are doing it, and that's also OK

b) Republicans have been doing this for a long time, and that's bad, and Democrats are doing it, and that's also bad

c) Republicans have been doing this for a long time, and that's bad, and Democrats are doing it, but that's OK

because when you say:

Democrats start doing it because they’re sick of getting their teeth kick in at election time

it makes me think you're saying it's OK when Democrats do it.

so are you also OK with Republicans doing it?

or are you, in the same post where you accuse other people of being hypocrites, saying it's bad when Republicans do it but OK when Democrats do it?