I am growing weary of the twaddle from Republicans or conservatives who claim that the health care law is corrupt/wrong-headed/dangerous because they actually took the time to read the bill.
Big whoop. The issue about “not reading the bill” is one that is always raised by right-wingers opponents, as though this were supposed to mean anything. (And in fact a Republican considers himself an “expert” if he says he has “read the bill.”). What, should a person receive a merit badge for being able to do what’s already part of his job? (Can’t we just give them a gold star and leave them alone?)
The final law is about the size of 3 Harry Potter books — don’t you think a bill that sets standards for a multibillion dollar industry deserves at least that much?
In fact, most lawmakers are familiar with the bill inside and out. (Most are lawyers– and quite competent at reading legal documents).
The reason why this charge is thrown around is
- sections of the bill are written using precise terminology which is not supposed to be read, but composed specifically to avoid legal ambiguity (such as glossaries, etc).
- The bill has gone through several edits. The reason a person has not read the final bill is that he already read several earlier drafts of the same bill; all he really needs to know is what has changed since the last draft.
- Remarks like that are preying on the fact that a large number of Americans are uncomfortable with reading ANYTHING and seem to find it utterly amazing that anybody has actually read a book.
- It is used as a stalling tactic (since for the ordinary American, reading a book the size of Harry Potter could take weeks).
The most famous example of someone who has actually read the bill has turned out to have the most misguided viewpoint of it.
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