Ricky, Don't Lose That Number!

Rick "The Constitutional Scholar and Numerologist" Santorum has come up with an interpretation of the Constitution that is unique, even in the age of publish or perish law school professorships. (You may recall the old joke that Jesus could not get a faculty position at a Catholic Law School because, although he was a great teacher, he never published!)

Santorum is quoted in the Huffington Post as follows:

"Our founders intended for them to be the least consequential of the three branches of government," said Santorum. "How do I know that for a fact? Because it's Article III. Article I is Congress, Article II is the president and Article III is the courts. If it was the most important, they wouldn't have put it third."

 That is an interesting interpretation of the Constitution--but Justice Scalia believes that the judiciary is three times more important than the other branches, because it is in Article III and therefore has 3 "I's" not just one I. (The judiciary's third "I" is an inner eye, and in the land of the blind the  I eyed may be king, but what good does that do if the courts can declare all of his acts unconstitutional?)This is the John Marshall "They Saved the Best For Last" theory of Constitutional interpretation.

 It is a constitution, Ricky,  not a race. The articles are numbered, and are not designated gold, silver, and bronze.  If he were elected president, would Santorum defer to the legislative branch because they are in Article I ? 

If he is elected president Santorum will try to get the Constitution amended because what are foreign numerals doing in our constitution anyway--why isn't it Article  One?  

Since the legislature can override a presidential veto there is some support for the proposition that the Legislative is the most powerful branch.  But the Supreme Court can then rule that the legislation passed as a result of the veto was unconstitutional.  Congress can remove Justices through impeachment and conviction-- because our government is really modeled on a game of  rock paper scissors.

That concept may be troubling for Santorum and Ginrich (who would like to do away with the courts entirely and rule by Divine authority.)  The reason is that Wikipedia notes that the game is not American in origin.   According to the Chinese Ming Dynasty writer Xie Zhaozhi's (谢肇淛) book Wuzazu (五杂组), the first known mention of the game, the game dates back to the time of the Chinese Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE), it was called shoushiling (手势令). Li Rihua's (李日华) book Note of Liuyanzhai (六砚斋笔记) also reveals this game, calling it shoushiling (手势令), huozhitou (豁指头), or huoquan (豁拳).

In the 18th century these games were popular in Japan. It's known in Japan as Jan-ken-pon (じゃんけんぽん), more commonly called janken (じゃんけん) and sometimes called rock ken (石拳 ishiken). The origin or the derivation of the name is unknown. Ken (拳 ken) is a fist in Japanese and Jan-ken-po is categorized as a "ken (fist) games" (拳遊び ken asobi.

Starting in 2002, the World Rock Paper Scissors Society standardized a set of rules for international play and has overseen annual International World Championships. These open, competitive championships have been widely attended by players from around the world and have attracted widespread international media attention. WRPS events are noted for their large cash prizes, elaborate staging, and colorful competitors.

I digress.

Meanwhile, in New Hampshire  Newt Ginrich has captured the endorsement of the arch conservative newspaper the Manchester Anti-Union Leader.  Mitt Romney (the Bain of Newt's existence), using his business experience and acumen, has prepared a spreadsheet of where he stands on all the issues in New Hampshire to replace his Iowa one.