"But No One Read It"

Perhaps the most foolish nonsense being circulated by many opponents of the just-passed stimulus is that no Member of Congress read the entire 1,000+ page piece of legislation before voting on it. For anyone who buys this argument, allow me to point out that as sad as it may sound, few Members of Congress ever entirely read a long bill before it is passed, particularly if leaders are pressed for time to act, as was the case here. Therefore, these criticisms are completely meritless and meaningless.

While in a perfect democracy our elected representatives and senators would read, pore over, study, ponder, and debate every syllable of a bill like something out of the founding days or a Frank Capra movie, this simply does not happen. Members don't have the time (and many do not possess the faculties) to read bills. It does not help there are literally thousands of proposed bills every Congress.

Is this ideal? No, it isn't, but that's how it is, and really, it does not matter nor is it a legitimate argument to make against this legislation or many other bills. Republicans are just trying to kick up dirt and de-legitimize the stimulus before it even reaches the President's desk.