« More on Super-Creep Safe Schools Czar Kevin Jennings | Main | That Government Stimulus Money? Not Workin' »

Utterly unqualified to be public servants. End of story.

I'm glad I'm not alone thinking it is insane for LAWMAKERS to say they haven't read the bill and don't understand it as a sincere excuse. What exactly are they paid for? Sitting on their chair and voting depending on what today's memo asked them to? Sorry, I think I just answered myself.

Why bother to actually understand the legislation on which you vote if you know that, as an incumbent, your constituents will most likely re-elect you anyway?

"It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood."
James Madison

But then again he's an old, dead, white guy, who helped found this Country, what could he know?

If I were to read a contract and couldn't make head or tail of what it said that would be reason enough to not sign it - and I would have to conclude someone was attempting to defraud me - same difference.

Tom Carper has always been a disgrace. He was also a buddy of Bill Clinton.

There was also that unfortunate business with the murder of Carper's scheduling clerk Anne Marie Fahey by Tom Capano....but enough has been said about the Capanos and thier fundraising for Joe Biden.

Great quote by Madison, Fletch. It really makes no sense that legislative language must be written in secret code. Some conventions, such as cross referencing code sections, makes some sense, because it reduces the bulk of a bill, somewhat, but no one is going to tell me that statutes could not be written more plainly and that this wouldn't result in fewer crappy bills being passed and greater compliance with bills that do pass.

.......awaiting 2010 with bated breath........

Legislation written by a roomful of lawyers is almost certain to be one gigantic run-on sentence, designed to confuse 100% of those who attempt to read and comprehend same.

The man is right; why read it? You won't understand it anyway. It was written so you can't!

Thats the general problem with Washington DC, they write bills in legalese that no normal person understands. Bills should be written in plain English and limited to 100 pages (1 side only). There should a board of 100 ordinary voters (2 from each state) selected at random that should vote on whether or not they understand the bill. If 75% dont vote YES, then rewrite the bill. The only requirement would be an IQ over 100.

Bloated 1,000 page monster bills that no one understands is why the Federal Government is such a mess.

Of course none of this will happen and crap like this will continue until Washington collapses under the weight of all that paper.

Have you read the bill Van?

I have tried to read the bill, but the jackasses in congress can't even get something together to read. It is changing hourly, and the fuckers can't even finish it. Once it makes it to pdf it is days out of date. Still waiting for a version of the senates bill.

the reason they have to keep changing it is because they keep bowing down to the outrageous republican lunatics on the right who are bent on delaying the bill for as long as humanely possible.

If Obama didn't feel the need to try to negotiate with idiots, we wouldn't have this problem.

If Obama didn't feel the need to try to negotiate with idiots, we wouldn't have this problem.

Well, the Democrats chose Pelosi and Reid as the leaders of their chambers, so Obama has to negotiate with them.

hey anono. Don't forget that the Democunts have super majorities in each house. The Republicans can not stop any legislation. The reason they cant pass the health care bill is because it is a total piece of shit. This is leftard vs. libtard brawling. Even though a majority of the people don't want it.

Also anon the democramps don't want this unaffordable albatross hanging around their necks come re-election time. They know that medicare will have to be raided and taxes increased, that means no re-election unless they can blame repubs for some of the mess.

Anyone with the least bit of integrity would have no choice but to vote NO on any bill that was so convoluted as to be pointless if not impossible to read.

I sort of agree with what he's explaining. You try to read this stuff and it is like, Strike 'regulation' and substitute 'applicable statutes' in paragraph 3(b) of subsection IIa,IV(b) & XII(l) US Code Title VI(a)(ii) pursuant to US Code Title V(a)(iii) section 7a(iv), 7b line 6, 9c(ii) and section 2(a)(i).

Well, think of the US Tax Code. Very few of us are even willing to tackle that beast by ourselves. Of course there are proposals to simplifying it.... 1. How much did you make? 2. Send it.

But hey, go for it. Put it out there for parallel processing. Is better to have 50,000 eyes examining it rather than 500.

Anon, it would be a dereliction of duty if the Republicans let that monstrosity pass without a fight. Clearly, Democrats like Carper are comfortable in their failure to do their jobs, but Republicans are held to a higher standard by their constituents.

What they should have done is started with legislation that attacked the waste in Medicare. If they can't fix programs that already exist, I don't want them starting any new ones.

What they should have done is started with legislation that attacked the waste in Medicare. If they can't fix programs that already exist, I don't want them starting any new ones.

Yeah, that pretty much sums up the absolute failure that Democrats partake in.

Yes, actually, laws have to be that complicated. The most important factor of a law is that is sufficiently unambiguous that it can be objectively determined when its been violated. Most of the length of any law is defining what various terms mean in context. That kind of precision can be long.

That said, laws aren't completely inscrutable if you put some effort into reading them. The inexcusable crime of many legislators (of both parties) is that they shovel most of that effort off on their aides instead of getting at least a basic understand for themselves.

"Anonymous at October 2, 2009 12:39 PM"

Have YOU read the bill? Do you UNDERSTAND it? If you answered "yes" to both questions, go to DC and explain it to CONGRESS.

"hey you guys at October 2, 2009 2:49 PM"

Stop saying "both parties" and variations on that theme, your Liberal politicos said that they would end the crap and corruption in government, so tell THEM to get off their asses do it!

We're essentially paying CONgress to exist... because, for the most part, they don't even write legislation, let alone read it...

Seriously, their job is to represent the people, write legislation for the benefit of society and, if they didn't personally write it, they are supposed to read it and offer input.

If they're not doing that, then they're not doing their job. If they're not doing the job they were elected to do, I REALLLLLLY have to ask, WHAT THE FUCK ARE WE PAYING THEM FOR?

Real simple ALL of congress should be paid what a private in the military gets. Period. Hell they don't even tote a rifle. But maybe congress should have to go through boot camp.

Real simple ALL of congress should be paid what a private in the military gets. Period. Hell they don't even tote a rifle. But maybe congress should have to go through boot camp.

I'm reminded - with a slight chuckle - of 2003, when some of the moonbats who were opposed to the Iraq War actually came out and said that Congress should be composed entirely of military vets, or alternatively, that you should have to have "served" in order to even cast a ballot.

That made me laugh...because trust me, the Left really, really, really wouldn't want to live in a country run like that.