You have to take your fun where you can find it. Right now, there’s some fun to be had by some members of the House, regarding Rule 67, which is so full of loopholes that it just begs to be mocked.
67. All legislators, legislative officers, and legislative staff shall attend in-person education and training regarding sexual and other unlawful harassment and discrimination.
First, note that it just requires attendance. It doesn’t require successful completion, or completion, or even participation. You could just sit there, reading a novel or playing sudoku. You could show up, sign in, and leave early. In either of those cases, you would be in compliance with the rule.
Second, note that it doesn’t say which training you have to attend. The speaker’s office has lined up some training sessions, and state representative Jess Edwards sought permission from the speaker to hold his own training, but as the rule is written, he didn’t need to.
Third, it doesn’t say that you have to attend as part of a group. I think it was Rep. John Burt who noted that he had already been educated — in person — on this subject by his mother, and then by his wife.
Fourth, the rule doesn’t specify that the attendees and the trainers have to be different people. A group of representatives could get together at Hooters and train each other by swapping stories.
Which is exactly what some of them ought to do! They could write up certificates of completion for each other on Hooters napkins and submit those to the speaker’s office.
That’s short-term. Long-term, when Republicans regain the House, they should immediately rewrite Rule 67 to say something like,
67. All legislators, legislative officers, and legislative staff shall obtain a certificate of completion for either the NRA Basics of Pistol Shooting or the NRA Basic Rifle Shooting Course before participating in any House business.
then sit back and watch the heads explode.
