TPMDC

Lawrence O’Donnell Challenges Rep. Goodlatte’s Reading Of The Constitution (VIDEO)

Lawrence O'Donnell and Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R- VA)

Last night, Lawrence O’Donnell challenged Rep. Bob Goodlatte’s (R-VA) knowledge of the Constitution, after Goodlatte boasted of his plans to read the document in its entirety on the House floor Thursday.

Goodlatte — who will become the first congressman to read the Constitution in its entirety on the House floor — says it will “begin the process of debating” the meaning and role of the Constitution today.

Goodlatte also commented on the new rules in the House, saying they will require that “all bills introduced in the Congress state the basis in the Constitution — the section of the Constitution — upon which that introducer of the bill relies in introducing it.”

But O’Donnell wasn’t satisfied to leave it at that. He brought up a bill Goodlatte introduced to censor the Internet to his decency standards. The Supreme Court eventually ruled it unconstitutional, saying it violated the First Amendment.

And O’Donnell also pressed Goodlatte on voting for an increase in the minimum wage without looking into the constitutionality of doing so.

“You voted for an increase in something that you don’t even know has constitutional authority to exist?” O’Donnell asked him.

“That’s correct,” Goodlatte said.

Watch:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

David Taintor

David Taintor is TPM’s News Editor. He contributes to TPM’s Livewire coverage, among other areas. David is from Chanhassen, Minnesota, where, yes, it gets very cold. Reach him at taintor [at] talkingpointsmemo.com

Top Stories From TPM

Oklahoma GOP Sen. Tom Coburn Will Seek To Offset Tornado Aid

Ohio Republicans Push Law To Penalize Colleges For Helping Students Vote

Secret Service Looking Into Radio Host’s Graphic Violent Comments About Obama, Hillary Clinton

VA GOP's Attorney General Nominee Wanted Women To Report Miscarriages To Police Or Face Jail Time

The NRA Thinks These Are The ‘Coolest Gun Movies’ Ever

What Republicans Already Knew About The White House Benghazi Emails

Disqus Conversations

Click here to read the Disqus Commenting FAQ.

Editor & Publisher

Josh Marshall

Managing Editor

David Kurtz

Associate Editor

Nick Martin

Assistant Editor

Igor Bobic

Reporters

Brian Beutler

Sahil Kapur

Eric Lach

Hunter Walker

Frontpage Editor

Zoë Schlanger

News Writers

Tom Kludt

Video Editor

Michael Lester

General Manager & General Counsel

Millet Israeli

VP, Ad Sales

Bruce Ellerstein

Associate Publisher

Kyle Leighton

Assistant To The Publisher

Joe Ragazzo

Designer/Developer

Matthew Wozniak

Design Associate

Christopher O’Driscoll