Updated at 4:12 p.m.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Those pesky founding fathers. Some days it's hard to keep their statements straight.

John Boehner, the Republican congressman from southwestern Ohio who also happens to be the House minority leader, addressed a gathering of Republican and Republican-leaning citizens Thursday on Capitol Hill. They were fired up, fighting for the rights guaranteed by America's patriots. So it was only appropriate that when Boehner joined the tea party, he waved a copy of "the Constitution" and read from it.

Except his words were from the Declaration of Independence.

An excuse can be made that what Boehner actually waved is a booklet given to all Congress members, and it includes both the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Problem, is, Boehner said, "This is my copy of the Constitution. And I'm going to stand here with our founding fathers, who wrote in the preamble, 'We hold these truths to be self-evident ...' "

Said Cory Fritz, Boehner's spokesman: "Both texts are vital to the liberty beloved by every American."

Boehner unquestionably loves and appreciates that liberty. But to help him savor it more (and to rub it in?), the Ohio chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has sent him a booklet that has not only the Constitution but also the ACLU's take on civil liberties. It has a guide on what to do when questioned by law enforcement, and a nationwide directory of ACLU contacts "in case you are ever in need of legal assistance."

This, said executive director Christine Link, may help avoid "future confusion."