That’s a good way to describe almost everyone in D.C. Even those that what the Constitution means seem to forget how to preserve it when they’ve been in office a long time.
That’s the subject of an article in the Baltimore Sun last week. Here’s an excerpt:
On Nov. 5, Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, the House minority leader, took the podium at a Republican rally, waved a document defiantly and declared:”This is my copy of the Constitution, and I’m going to stand here with the Founding Fathers who wrote in the Preamble, We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed with the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness ” Mr. Boehner was encouraging participants to protest the pending House vote for health care reform by demanding their constitutional right to make medical decisions.
Pop quiz: What’s wrong with this picture?
If you said that there is no explicit constitutional right to make medical decisions, you score some points. If you said that the passage Mr. Boehner quotes is from the Declaration of Independence you get an A. If you also noted that the quotation is not even from the Declaration’s preamble, you earn extra credit.
Mr. Boehner is not the first opinion leader to confuse the Constitution with the Declaration, nor is he apt to be the last. Moral Majority founder Jerry Falwell, for example, said, “As our Constitution declares, we are endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights ” Of course, Mr. Boehner, unlike Mr. Falwell, entered the profession by promising to protect the Constitution.
very well put response
If Boehner is going to make a public statement about the Constitution vis-a-vis health care reform, he's a dolt if he doesn't bother to check his facts and get it right. That's why this article is important. It reveals Boehner as yet another self-absorbed, publicity-seeking, narcissist who rushes toward the camera lights like a moth to a flame without realizing he has no clue what he's talking about. Sadly, he and his ilk never seem to be burned to a crisp…
I am a federal lawyer and have studied the Constitution for 30 years now and I can't recall every detail. But, that's not necessary since I have a copy of it on my desk and can look up issues as they arise.
The crux of the problem is that almost no one wants to be BOUND by what the Constitution says. With the exception of Rep. Paul and Bachmann, I never hear an elected 'leader' read from the document itself and explain how their policy position is consonant with the precise language in the Constitution.
Without adherence to an unchanging, written rule of law, we are a nation of men and are doomed to be ruled by an ever-changing mob. That, sadly, is the case today.
Of course, the 'living Constitution' crowd is part of the group that doesn't want to bother with the rule of law.
Really? A guy gives one speech in front of a huge crowd (no teleprompter) and f's something up, and that means he's constitutionally illiterate? Folks need to get over themselves.
Wait – so you have no issue with the fact that he does not even know such a basic thing – the difference between the Declaration and the Constitution? I find that to be HUGE – and do expect that if it were a different political thug, like Pelosi, doing the same thing people like yourself would be screaming about what an idiot she is.
f's something up?! Dude, he's trying to act all smart by reading a passage from the Constitution and its from The Declaration of Independnce? Thats a pretty big f**ck up!! Come on!! You just made almost as equal of an ass out of YOURself by defending him. Holy cow!
ROFLMAO!!
What dovetails with the Constitutional illiteracy is economic illiteracy, as well. The study of Austrian economics goes hand in hand with Constitutional study. Realize that the federal government is ultimately crumbling under the strain of it’s socialistic economic policies and criminal monetary policies. These policies can only have occured by subverting the Constitution. Everyone should also visit mises.org in addition to this tenther site for additional educational enhancement.
Excellent point, Bill! Mises.org is one of my daily reads – 2nd only to LewRockwell.com.
Oh Man! I thought it was from the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions! Or was it the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions? Anyway, do I at least get a "C"?