Americans For Tax Reform Makes A Mockery Of The Constitution

Yesterday, Americans for Tax Reform published an absurd blog post titled "Don't Read the Bills...Just Vote No." The central argument of the post is that members of Congress shouldn't bother reading climate change or health reform bills; they should just vote against them.  According to ATR, the Constitution doesn't specifically call for the government to "regulate invisible gases" or provide health care, so legislation that would do so must be unconstitutional:

We will start with the Cap and Trade energy tax bill which was passed by the House a few weeks ago. No one could have possibly read this bill before it was passed, because an official copy didn't even exists. No problem though, all they had to do was look in their trusty Constitution and see what it has to say. It does not have a section granting the United States the authority to regulate invisible gases. Ok, so now we look at the Amendments section...not there either. It's not in the Constitution, therefore Congress can't do it, so vote no.

On to Health care. This is a heated debate, so let's consult the Constitution. Again, nothing in there about the government providing health care, health insurance, or anything else having to do with doctors or medicine. It's not in there, so you don't have to read the bill, just vote no.

Of course, ATR's logic is laughably wrongheaded.  Their reasoning would require the United States to dismantle the Air Force, among other things that aren't specifically mentioned in the text of the Constitution.  It's the kind of argument that should disqualify the organization from being taken seriously by anyone.  Yet, sadly, ATR remains an influential player in the conservative movement.