Not-So-Strict Constructionism

It's a time-honored tradition among Republicans to praise the Constitution and insist on its strict interpretation, all while demonstrating a shocking degree of unfamiliarity –  if not outright disdain – for its actual content. [My personal favorite might still be House GOP Leader John Boehner confusing the Declaration of Independence with the Preamble to the Constitution, while he brandished his pocket copy of the latter.  What a perfect illustration of the fact that for the GOP the Constitution is, indeed, a mere accessory.]

Another unsettling example of the GOP’s hypocrisy vis-à-vis the Constitution is the "Birthright Citizenship Act of 2011," cosponsored by Missouri Congressmen Sam Graves and Todd Akin, to gut the 14th Amendment, which guarantees citizenship to everyone born in the United States.

Setting aside the fact that the problem this bill purports to solve -- so-called “birth tourism” -- is vastly overstated, the fact that Graves and Akin are all too willing to tinker with a pillar of our democracy in the service of thinly-veiled nativism should not stand.   

Perhaps Congressman Graves should consider his own advice: “The best way to honor our Constitution is to follow it. We need to bring some sanity back to Washington and it starts with both the Administration and lawmakers following the Constitution.”

Sanity, indeed.