The new rule was promised last September in the Republicans’ Pledge to America. Its appeal is evident. Americans extol the virtues of self-government, by which we mean constitutional self-government. That is, we govern ourselves under our Constitution, the “”supreme law of the land.”” Because members of Congress, like the president and members of the Supreme Court, take an oath to uphold the Constitution, it is fair to ask whether congressmen are living up to their oath if they pass a law without considering their constitutional authority to enact it in the first place.