At first, I thought there was something cool, if a bit hokey, about the GOP's plan to read the Constitution aloud on the floor of the House. But then I decided to watch them actually do it.
The first thing I learned was that they weren't actually reading the full text of the Constitution and the amendments. Even though no amendment has ever actually removed language from the Constitution, the GOP decided to skip over parts of the Constitution that in their judgment had been superseded by amendments. Apparently, they feel embarrassed by certain portions of the Constitution -- for example, the three-fifths clause.
In my view, if you're not going to read the original text, then what's the point of the whole exercise? So that was a big strike one.
Strike two came next, and it's really where the Constitution-reading event really jumped the shark. I had figured they would have the clerk of the House read the entire text of the Constitution and its amendments. But that's not what they did. Instead, they broke the document into teeny weeny pieces, giving each member one or two sentences to read from the well of the House. Because it's a parliamentary body, in between each member's reading, the sponsor of the reading initiative had to recognize each member, adding useless delays into the process. So a typical stretch went like this:
Rep. GOODLATTE: I now yield to the gentleman from Rhode Island, Mr. Langevin.
Rep. LANGEVIN: Section 8. The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
Rep. GOODLATTE: I now yield to the gentleman from New Jersey, Mr. Lance.
Rep. LANCE: To borrow money on the credit of the United States.
I point out that section for two reasons.
First, it's a useful reminder that among the first powers given to Congress by the Constitution are the powers to tax, to provide for the general welfare, and to borrow money on the credit of the United States, yet somehow the self-described constitutionalists argue that doing any of those things is somehow a violation of the spirit of the founding of the nation.
The second reason I point out that section is that fittingly, at that very moment, even John Boehner got bored with the reading of the Constitution. Right in the middle of the festivities, Boehner decided to hold a press conference with Majority Leader Eric Cantor. Fox, knowing on which side its bread is buttered, quickly ditched the yawn-inspiring reading of the Constitution and jumped over to cover Boehner's presser.
And that was the third strike. If John Boehner and Fox News thought their Constitution-reading circus wasn't worth paying attention to, neither did I. So I bailed.
