Exhibit A, in the case against our current ruling political philosophy, is this quote from Sen. Thomas Carper (D.-Del.): “I don’t expect to actually read the legislative language because reading the legislative language is among the more confusing things I’ve ever read in my life.”
Since our congressional masters won’t let us read the text of the bill in question before they pass it I guess we won’t be able to judge the relative reading comprehension of Senator Carper. But this isn’t the only congressman who says he can’t read the bills he votes on.
“I love these members, they get up and say, ‘Read the bill,’” said Rep. John Conyers. “What good is reading the bill if it’s a thousand pages and you don’t have two days and two lawyers to find out what it means after you read the bill?” ~blog.sunlightfoundation.com
The Rule of Law
If those who write these bills can’t understand them how are they to be enforced or implemented? How are they to be interpreted and by whom? How can the people be expected to obey them?
The principle of the Rule of Law is literally at stake here.
One, the laws should be very transparent and clearly worded so that all mature citizens would clearly understand what are strictly prohibited and the penalties associated with violating the laws. And two, the laws and prohibitions should be as few as possible. Both citizens and law enforcers can easily remember them and people can grow in freedom, in an environment of very few restrictions and prohibitions.
Rule of law can also be viewed as a general legal maxim according to which decisions should be made by applying known principles or laws, without the intervention of discretion in their application. This maxim is intended to be a safeguard against arbitrary governance. The word “arbitrary” (from the Latin “arbiter”) signifies a judgment made at the discretion of the arbiter, rather than according to the rule of law. ~en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_law
Are we playing Russian Roulette with our legislation?
Carper described the type of language the actual text of the bill would finally be drafted in as “arcane,” “confusing,” “hard stuff to understand,” and “incomprehensible.” He likened it to the “gibberish” used in credit card disclosure forms. ~cnsnews.com
It is the job of a Congressman or Senator is to understand and make laws. Any legislator who cannot understand that “gibberish” has no business holding the job.