Report: House GOP's Constitution Reading Could Cost Over $1 Million

[meegbear]

Source: TalkingPointsMemo.com

Now this is a laugh. As Vanity Fair reports, the House GOP leadership's symbolic gesture of reading the Constitution on the House floor today -- in an effort to please their Tea Party base who decry virtually all of the Obama administration's policies as both a monumental waste of money and, more importantly, an affront to our founding document -- could also itself cost a lot of money.

The magazine asked an expert on government waste, and he said in part:

The amount I get is nearly $1.1 million. $1,071,872.87, to be exact, though of course this is more back-of-the-envelope than exact. When one chamber of Congress is in session but not working, we the people still have to pay for members' salaries and expenses, and for their police protection, and for keeping their lights and phones and coffee machines on. Even Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Mike Pence (R-IN) combined don't blow enough hot air to heat the Capitol in January.

Wow, that sure does sound wasteful. If only the citizens of this country could get mobilized to oppose it -- maybe by holding massive rallies to decry it as being unconstitutional government waste. Who knows, perhaps they could even co-opt some massive action from Revolutionary days to be their symbol.

Read more: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/01/report-house-gops-constitution-reading-could-cost-over-1-million.php?ref=fpa

[targetpractice]

1. Wonder what the cost of filibusters from the last two years was?

I used to work for a company obsessed with meetings... I used to tally salaries and time during a meeting in attempt to make sure time was being used wisely... Or, to point out the true cost of not starting on time.

[SoapBox]

2. Hilarious. These Radical Republicans are such money wasters.

...just the tip of the Money Wasting iceberg.

America...you are the Titanic.

[AlbertCat]

3. We now, obviously, only have symbolic government... nothing real.

We will have a lot of patriotic bluster
We will have oodles of outrage at "injustices"
Lots of crying!



Nothing of any use will get done.




at GREAT expense.

[Ian David]

4. This empty (and expensive) gesture didn't even make enough of a splash to trend on Twitter.

Trending: United States
* Huckleberry Finn
* Jaime Pressly
* Reyes Magos
* Anna Nicole Smith
* Motorola Xoom
* Adam Levine
* JERSEY SHORE TONIGHT
* Piers Morgan
* Ellen Weiss

[wilt the stilt]

5. Republicans prefer to masturbate in public

This goes along with their
I'm more patriotic than you
I'm more moral than you because I believe in jesus
I'm better than you

[yellowcanine]

11. I would just as soon not think about Eric Cantor and Bonerman doing that. EW!

[gratuitous]

6. But they're cutting out certain parts

So that should trim some of the time. It's probably going to work out to $1,050,000 or something like that as the Republicans decline to read the icky parts of the Constitution.

I read at Daily Kos that Weeper of the House Boehner took off in the middle of the reading to go do a press availability. He was padded after by the "journalists" at Fox News, who know on which side of their bread lies the butter, and which interrupted its riveting coverage of the Reading of Some of the Constitution to cover Boehner. If Boehner and Fox don't care about this expensive stunt, Tea Baggers, why should you?

[Javaman]

9. Probably cut away to the weeping boner during the reading of the 14th amendment. nt

[former9thward]

7. I think the Constitution reading was silly but this guy doesn't know DC

Congressmen are paid whether they are in session or not. The Capitol is open with all the lights, heat, police and everything else going whether Congress is there or not. What does he think -- that representatives and their staff are contractors? Goofy.

[xchrom]

8. recommend -- send a bill to boehner someone.

seriously -- someone should send them a bill -- and a camera crew.

[udbcrzy2]

10. Cheaper to just give them a written test before nomination n/t

[hayu_lol]

12. Yup, their princely salaries are paid whether they are 'hard' at work...

or staying home(or convenient love nest)nursing hangovers. Sometimes I really think our taxes would go down if they didn't go to work at all.

Cut their princely wages down to $75,000/year...they want to be public SERVANTS, then pay them servant's wages.