Super Congress: Fourth branch of government - or the tail wagging the dog?

[derby378]

Sounds horrendous either way, especially since I'm unclear as to when Super Congress will dissolve (if ever), but what's your unvarnished take?

[peacebird]

1. I thought the Tea Party were all about "The Constitution" as the WORD OF GOD

I don't see anything in the Constitution about a fourth branch of govt....

Seems like just a ploy to give the career pols in the Congress a fig leaf for destroying the middle class and helping enrich their corporate masters and rich buddies.... "but we HAD to vote for it or else the awful terrible really bad stuff would happen!"

[derby378]

2. I remember some Republicans (including David Barton) had a beef with the Supreme Court

Back in the 90s, they were complaining about who decided the Supreme Court should be a co-equal branch of government with Congress and the White House. They wanted to reduce the number of co-equal branches to two, and now they have four. That's teabagger math for you.

[Supersedeas]

6. delegating legislative power to an intellectual super committee...sounds almost Marxist

[DFab420]

3. or Sub-committee made up of members of both the Senate and the House?

cause that's what it is.

[phantom power]

4. It's the fifth branch. Cheney is still the 4th branch.

[Zen Democrat]

5. This is just another joint committee. There have been hundreds of them.

Why the hysteria about this one? They can propose cuts and if the Congress doesn't accept them, then there's cuts to the Pentagon and the skivvy hospitals that take advantage of Medicare patients. And that is all. It's a huge cut for defense if no other deal is accepted.

And then .... the committee dissolves. Poof.