Image via WikipediaRead related » Two new rules will give Constitution a starring role in GOP-controlled HouseIs this a great country or what? After two centuries of mostly contentious deliberations over sausage-making legislation, the House will finally begin each process with kosher ingredients [i.e., the citing of constitutional authority for the proposed legislation]. I think it's great.
[This related article is recommended in its entirety.]
“And then they will require that every new bill contain a statement by the lawmaker who wrote it citing the constitutional authority to enact the proposed legislation. […] The constitutional authority rule will restart this debate with each new bill. Every measure will require a statement from its sponsor outlining where in the Constitution Congress is empowered to enact such legislation. […] "I see this as a statement of the Republican Party, heavily influenced by the tea party, that we are the defenders of the Constitution and we will exercise our constitutional responsibilities seriously in ways the Democrats did not," said Neil Siegel, a law professor at Duke University.”
— By Philip Rucker and Krissah Thompson, December 30, 2010 (washingtonpost.com)
BTW, I think Prof. Neil Siegel (dollars-to-donuts he leans left in class) is correct in what he says. But I fail to see what larger point, if any, he is making.
What better way to begin what will inevitably devolve into ad hominem mudslinging than an a priori claim of constitutional legitimacy for the proposed bill? Seriously, at least the proposal will have a shot at rationality, before the all-out food fight begins.
Who knows, perhaps some of the citations of constitutionality will be so hilarious that the members will engage in a ROTFLMAO-bonding that just might succeed in some bi-partisan legislation. I know it's a long shot, but it could happen.
There is nothing to lose and at least a non-zero probability for gain.
Post 1,526 The U.S. Constitution Rules!
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