Republicans have no shame: part five - Mike Pence

Steve Benen

THE WIT AND WISDOM OF MIKE PENCE.... House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence (R-Ind.), the #3 official in the House GOP leadership, spoke to The Daily Caller about some of the procedural questions surrounding health care reform.

So, for example, we see this exchange:

The Daily Caller: Yesterday you said the self-executing rule was unconstitutional. Is that correct?

Mike Pence: Well I think it's probably unconstitutional. I know that there are leading legal scholars who believe it is unconstitutional. My background in law and constitutional issues suggests to me it's unconstitutional.

Which was followed soon after by this exchange:

The DC: My question is, though, that Democrats say you voted for self-executing rules yourself on three occasions.

MP: Yeah, sure.

Oh my.

Pence added that if the House approves the Senate bill and a reconciliation budget fix through "deem and pass," then the House will have passed the Senate bill "without ever voting on it" -- suggesting he doesn't really understand what the self-executing rule is.

Pence went on to say that the Senate bill, even if it's signed into law, "cannot be fixed by reconciliation." To bolster this bizarre assertion, he pointed to ... nothing in particular.

As for the constitutionality question, and the fact that Pence has voted for self-executing rules several times, I also enjoyed this exchange:

The DC: It's an issue of the magnitude of the legislation?

MP: I think that's part of it.

I see. The constitutionality of a procedural rule in the House is dependent on whether Mike Pence things the rule is being applied to a "big" bill or not.

Remember, this guy not only went to law school, but is a top member of the Republican leadership and -- I kid you not -- someone openly considering a presidential campaign.