OMG they are going to READ the constitution on the floor of the House on Thursday??

[proud2BlibKansan]

Is that because so many of the newly elected House members are illiterate? Someone has to read to them?

Or is it because they have no important business?

What's next? Bedtime stories??

[rosesaylavee]

1. I hope the cameras pan the RW side to see how many are

listening with rapt attention. Or are even present during the reading.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

2. That's what's being reported

I wonder if it will be the unabridged version or the Republican Tea Party version? :crazy:

[RKP5637]

4. Coloring books to be passed out ahead of time. This is going to be a

more dreadful experience than usual listening to these fools in congress. People deserve what they vote for, but it's sad they have to take the rest of us down with them.

[JoePhilly]

3. Immediately after which, they'll head out to meet with the lobbyists.

[proud2BlibKansan]

53. And pick up their checks!

LOL

[asjr]

5. The Repulsive Party is going to turn the

House into the Apollo Theater and they will sing sections of the Constitution.

[malaise]

6. No it's because the Orange man read the Declaration of

Independence and claimed it was the Constitution

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9Oi0OPgIbA

[WhiteTara]

18. lol. Is this going to be a * redeux?

A bunch of asshats.

[no_hypocrisy]

7. While they're at it, they should also read the 200+ years of constiutional

case law as the Constitution is meaningless without its interpretations.

[xchrom]

8. +1

[Art_from_Ark]

62. And the Federalist papers, too

as well as the writings of Thomas Jefferson.
And they can read an in-depth analysis of the decisions of the John Marshall court while they're at it.

[crim son]

9. Oh, have at it, idiots.

While you're at it, why don't you read "Little Red Riding Hood" too? I'm sure you'll find it just as incomprehensible and irrelevant to your agenda.

[Chorophyll]

12. If you maded it "Little Red State Riding Hood,"

going up against the Big Bad Socialist Wolf (who wants a "death panel" for Granny) they might just get it!

ETA: that's supposed to be "made" in the subject line. Now I feel like a moran.

[crim son]

51. I'm positive you're not a moran, Chorophyll!

And, LOL!

[JackintheGreen]

10. Better: Con (this in)stitution n/t

[Evasporque]

11. So they can pick and choose which parts work best for them...like the bible....nt

[DaveinJapan]

13. +1 nt

[spanone]

14. kabuki theater

[GoCubsGo]

31. Yep. Here we go again with the idiotic stunts.

Wish they had read the Constitution when they controlled both houses of Congress AND the White House... Not that I believe they are going to do anything other than go through the motions here.

[racaulk]

32. That's exactly what it is. n/t

[stray cat]

15. Too many illiterate congressional people

[Epiphany4z]

16. ahhh well

let them read it...in fact ask them to do it daily....i figure it is just that much less time they can spend trying to fuck things up.

[kentuck]

17. I would hope the Democrats question each article and section...

...to see what the right-wing believes it to mean? Interrupt them. Ask questions.

[n2doc]

19. Wonder if they will include the Bill of Rights and other amendments

Or just the original. Or maybe they will just read the 2nd amendment, that's the only one they care about anyway.

[karynnj]

20. It's a PR stunt - I wonder if they will have a test after it is read

or whether they will take attendee. (I wrote the latter in jest, but thinking of it, I expect the Republicans to all come and to try to make an issue of Democrats who avoid it.)

This really is part of their talking point that the Constitution is on their side (as they have co-opted the flag in the past). This in spite of the fact that they - not the Democrats - want 2 amendments of long standing repealed and a new amendment passed. They also seem to realize that the Constitution is to be understood as amended over time and the various court decisions that have been made.

It also is - in my mind - linked to their claim that they READ THE BILLS - presumably unlike the Democrats. (This was pushed even on the START treaty where anyone watching CSPAN would have seen that Kerry refuted every single Republican talking point - multiple times - in real time - pulling up and reading parts of the treaty and supplementary documents. )

[proud2BlibKansan]

48. Didn't they say they were going to propose a bill that mandates they have to read bills?

[karynnj]

50. They are going to require time to allow reading the bills

I doubt they could actually monitor the Congressmen to prove that they read it - or give tests and allow only those scoring high enough to vote.

This is bogus as on many bills, they spend months working on the piece parts and have not just read, but have written and debated large parts of it. On many bills, they might even have their staff - who specialize in that area read it. One thing that is clear to me is that some of the Senators using that as an excuse are not the ones who shine in the committees working on legislation.

[Joanne98]

21. They hate the Constitution! They'll only read the 2nd!

[MilesColtrane]

22. They're just deciding which section to nix out next.

[rhett o rick]

23. I think there is a good chance the Repubs will all burst into flame when they hear it. nm

[TomClash]

24. someone tell them it doesn't start with . . .

. . . WE THE RICH PEOPLE.

[randr]

25. Next they will find some modern day "King James" and give it a rewrite--nc

[TomClash]

26. Sometimes I think they only know two texts

The Constitution and the Bible.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

27. and comprehend little of both! n/t

[Fleshdancer]

28. And yet I still think it should be supplemented with Constitution for Dummies...

It's not enough to read it to them, someone should probably take the time to explain it as well.

[marmar]

29. Read it, don't follow it.......

Gawd I hate Republicans.

[proud2BlibKansan]

52. You and me both marmar

[ashling]

30. No,

Bible stories
:grr:

[Orsino]

33. Background noise to cover the rustle of lobbyists' checks being handed out. n/t

[Zanzobar]

34. Halfwits

It really won't make much sense unless they read every decision made by the Supreme Court.

[janet118]

35. It's Showtime!! Republicans perform right wing theater for the masses

:puke: :puke: :puke:

[Luminous Animal]

36. Why does anyone care? I am confused as to why this benign action has so many people in a tizzy.

Sure, it is a political stunt. But, as political stunts go, there is no advantage to be had.

[emulatorloo]

38. Waste of taxdollars, IMHO

[Luminous Animal]

43. Which is probably equivalent to .10 seconds of the Afghanistan and Iraq occupations.

[emulatorloo]

59. Sadly those things will go on whether the Congress actually works or reads bedtime stories

So I still say it is a waste of taxpayer dollars.

[Luminous Animal]

60. It is a personal choice to get your dander up over something insignificant...

or get your dander up over something that might save 1 or 2 or 200,000 lives.

Liberals are idiots. If they really had a problem with the Reps reading the Constitution, then they should drag their patriotic asses to the steps of Congress with the favorite passages on signs and read it at the same time.

[emulatorloo]

37. Teabagger at my gym boasts he has THREE COPIES of the constitution

Don't know why he needs three, it seems like one would be enough?

Anyway I doubt he has read one of them. I doubt the Republicans have either, and if they did, they didn't understand it.

[Zanzobar]

41. Buy a pack of copy paper and print 500 copies in small font.

1000 copies if you can print on both sides.

[TK421]

39. That's nothing...after that, they're all taking turns shitting on it n/t

[madamesilverspurs]

40. Well they damn well better

be wearing their ginormous made-in-China flag lapel pins. Otherwise I might be inclined to question their sincerity. . .


-

[raouldukelives]

42. They love to mark territory

Always pissing on things. The flag, troops, Jesus & apple pie. Then they boost of how they are the only Americans who stand for those things while never actually comprehending what they mean. Only knowing they are important to voters of the same reptilian mindset.

[Javaman]

44. You forgot to add...

they will be using an highlighter and a black sharpy.

Since most of the original bill of rights has been blacked out already, the rest should come fairly easy for the repukes.

[The Backlash Cometh]

45. Someone should ask questions to see if they understand what they just read.

[harun]

46. Because they are about to launch the greatest assault in U.S. history

against it.

[Initech]

47. This is a good thing.

Let the pukes see what it really says versus what they think it says.

[patrice]

49. Assuming we have the DU open on one tab, where else might it be a good idea to be when

this goes down?

[Cleita]

54. We are going to have two years of getting nothing done

because of nonsense like this. Maybe it's for the best because, hopefully, it will stop the corporate privatization of our government in its tracks.

[Retrograde]

55. Might be the first time for some of them

Maybe they'll get some bright ideas, like bringing back letters of marque and reprisal, which Congress has the power to issue.

[Shandris]

56. I would raise my hand and ask for debate every time they...

...came to a passage that was even the slightest bit important to the way the Senate is supposed to function as opposed to how it DOES function. Ask for clarifications, expert witnesses, legal precedents, notations from the Supreme Court, and so on.

I'd make it such a goddamn circus that they'd be ashamed to continue it on day 2.

And then I'd stand and ask aloud for the reading to be continued, every day...invite reporters. Oh God I'd have fun with it.

[Initech]

57. This is a good thing. The pukes need to know what it really says

Vs. What they think it says.

[hedgehog]

58. Wonder what happens when they get to the 16th Amendment? Boo?

[RegieRocker]

61. Well they all need a crash course on the

Constitution and immediately go to work upholding it!

[Monk06]

63. Will they read the Patriot Act and Bush's 348 signing statements right afterward?

[jmowreader]

64. At which point...

The Democrats should rise, read the PATRIOT Act, and ask them exactly how it's permissible under the document the Republicans just read.

This is the thing. The Pukes are trying to get the HCR Bill overturned due to questions about the constitutionality of the Individual Mandate, and as I said in another thread I'd like to see the section that says the government can't force you to buy something. (I have read the Constitution a lot of times, and I can't find that part.) The Pukes are also the ones who crammed the PATRIOT Act, which violates about half the Constitution, down our throats. Their mission: reconcile the two sentiments.