re: #480 windsagio

Its a WSJ editorial, so probably :p

The Constitutionality issue is today’s big wingnut meme— probably will be for the whole week. the WSJ, NRO, and others are all over it.

They’re living in a fantasy world, though, as usual. Good rundown on it over at Washington Monthly with lots of links, but here’s the takeaway:

THE IOKIYAR RULE, PROCEDURAL EDITION
[…]

As expected, the responding tantrum is nearing full force. The WSJ editorial page is outraged; Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) is suggesting laws approved through the self-executing rule aren’t laws that Americans have to follow; and assorted GOP voices, on and off the Hill, are characterizing the deem-and-pass approach as unconstitutional.

Of particular interest were complaints from Rep. David Dreier (R-Calif.), the ranking member on the House Rules Committee, who called use of the self-executing rule “very painful and troubling.” It’s interesting — Dreier found the rule neither painful nor troubling when he used it in 2006.

Indeed, while the deem-and-pass approach used to be rare, its use became far more common 15 years ago — right after Republicans took over Congress. Don Wolfensberger, former chief of staff for the House Rules Committee under Republicans, explained in a column a few years ago, “When Republicans took power in 1995, they soon lost their aversion to self-executing rules and proceeded to set new records under Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.).”

It’s a familiar pattern — Republicans open doors, and then whine incessantly when Democrats walk through them.