Apparently the House Republicans reading the Constitution today did it their way. Observations from Ezra Klein and Emptywheel. Plus a member of the audience was inspired to join in.
The New York Times has an annotated version of the real Constitution, as written. Ezra Klein also links to a Washington Post version.
The fetishizing of the words of the Constitution in what rightwing legal types like to call "originalism" is thus thoroughly undercut by those who support them. If they can make up what the Constitution says, then anything is possible under the Constitution, and Antonin Scalia's claim that the 14th Amendment doesn't apply to women could indeed be accurate. Or it could be that the 14th Amendment makes gay marriage constitutional. If the words and the history of judical decisions means nothing, then the Constitution means nothing, and we can just make things up. Which, I guess, brings us full circle to today's reading in Congress.
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