Mainstream media pundit: Reading Constitution in Congress is a "gimmick"

NORAH O'DONNELL: Returning to the Constitution. That's what Republicans want to do in the new Congress. In the last year, the 223-year-old document has been getting a whole lot of lip service. So when the 112th Congress is sworn in next week, expect to hear a lot more about it, 'cause the Constitution is at center of three coming congressional battles and we love wonkery mixed up with politics. So, we're bringing our favorite wonk into the discussion to tee up some of the discussions in the weeks ahead, MSNBC contributor Ezra Wonk Klein is a staff writer for the Washington Post and joins us now. Ezra, good to see you. Thanks so much.

EZRA KLEIN: Good morning, Norah.

O'DONNELL: You heard all the different politicians talking about the Constitution. Well, this is what's going to happen. When Republicans take over next week, they're going to do something that apparently has never been done in the 221-year history of the House of Representatives. They are going to read the Constitution aloud. Is this a gimmick?

KLEIN: Yes, it's a gimmick. [Laughs] I mean, you can say two things about it. One, is that it has no binding power on anything. And two, the issue of the Constitution is not that people don't read the text and think they're following. The issue of the Constitution is that the text is confusing because it was written more than 100 years ago and what people believe it says differs from person to person and differs depending on what they want to get done. So, I wouldn't expect to much coming out of this.

Read more: http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/scott-whitlock/2010/12/30/wash-posts-ezra-klein-laments-confusing-nature-old-constitution#ixzz19d98xVGK






Hmmm...lets see what other books and documents may have "confusing" text, and "what people believe it says differs from person to person and differs depending on what they want to get done..."


1.  The Bible.
2.  The Bill of Rights.
3.  The individual States' ratifying documents for the Constitution.
4.  The Federalist Papers.
5.  The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government, by Jefferson Davis, with its Constitutional arguments so cogent that the victorious and vindictive Union government never even charged him with (what is today constantly referred to as) "treason."
6. Common Sense by Thomas Paine
7.  Anything written by Locke, Burke, or Lord Acton
8. Any work of fiction, prose, poetry, history, philosophy, or law (especially those not pre-approved by official mainstream media sources) .


So y'all should stay away from those pesky confusing documents, essays, and books, and other "gimmicks" that may lead you to get uppity towards your betters...


Lucky for us that modern laws coming out of Congress are crystal clear:

Obamacare