WASHINGTON -- Well before Sen. Jim Bunning retreated from his one-man blockade of the unemployment-benefits extension bill Tuesday in face of bipartisan scorching, the Kentucky Republican was the target of an uncommon criticism by a colleague from the other chamber -- Rep. Jim McDermott.

On Friday, McDermott issued a statement denouncing Bunning for his legislative roadblock the day before, which could have cut short jobless benefits for as many as 270,000 people in Washington. McDermott called Bunning's action "inexplicable" and said the former Baseball Hall of Famer is actually “better suited for the Hall of Shame in Congress.”

McDermott may have been particularly incensed because he had championed extra benefits for the jobless. In November, McDermott unsuccessfully pushed to extend until March 2011 the window during which jobless workers could collect an extra 53 weeks of unemployment checks, on top of the customary 26 weeks.

Instead, the House and the Senate voted to extend the period for two months, which expired Sunday. Bunning objected to another extension, arguing that it would add to the deficit.

By Tuesday, even members of Bunning's own caucus were urging him to end the impasse as Democrats exploited the chance to depict Republicans as heartless obstructionists.

Sen. Patty Murray spent more than 10 minutes on the Senate floor Tuesday excoriating “one single Republican senator" who was putting “posturing before, politics before families and point scoring before the needs of struggling Americans.”

Speaking just before Bunning finally relented, McDermott said Bunning's conduct demanded public scorn. And he dismissed Bunning's concerns about paying for the extended unemployment benefits, saying that Republicans "had no trouble going to two wars they couldn't pay for."

Bunning is "keeping people from getting checks to pay rent and other necessities of life," McDermott said. “He’s doing it because he can. It's abuse of power. He should be called out for doing this.”