The state of our union is...well, shit, we're killing it over here!!
Joe Biden exposes Republicans for the impotent, whiny crybabies they are
Is it just me, or has the State of the Union address degraded into a Republican clown show? You had Marjorie Trailer Greene wear a red MAGA hat (classy to the end, Marge!) and at least one Republican back-bencher wearing a sloganed t-shirt under a jacket and tie.
Time was when the SOTU was a relatively dignified affair. Sure, there’s always been a partisan tinge; Washington’s a town built on partisan combat, no? But there were always rules of etiquette and things that were always beyond the pale.
The biggest point of etiquette was that members left their petty partisan gripes outside the House chambers for the duration of the SOTU. Until 2009, that didn’t like too much to ask.
Then came Rep. Joe Wilson’s “You Lie!” insult directed at then-President Barack Obama. Obama stated during his 2009 SOTU that his proposed healthcare bill wouldn’t cover illegal aliens, which triggered the South Carolina Congressman.
I remember sitting in my car as I listened to the speech live on National Public Radio. Wilson’s outburst was clearly audible, and in the moment immediately afterward came a palpable shock. Sure, Americans knew that the good, God-fearing, White Conservative Christian Cisgender Heterosexuals patriots in the GOP HATED the Black Guy in the White House ©. Until that moment, however, we’d not realized how deep that hatred ran.
Or perhaps we had known and hadn’t been willing to admit that such virulent racism still existed in 21st century AmeriKKKa.
Rep. Wilson issued a formal apology, and the House of Representatives passed a resolution of disapproval against him, but the damage had been done. Republican poor behavior quickly became a feature, not a bug, of subsequent SOTUs.
Since 2009, GOP behavior has only become worse, and, except during Donald Trump’s Reign of Error ©, the SOTU has come to represent an episode of Republican Romper Room. Shouted insults and accusations are now the norm, with some Republicans seeing the speech as the perfect opportunity to take on and attempt to embarrass a Democratic President during a nationally televised broadcast.
Stay KKKlassy, eh?
I must admit to being a bit disappointed that President Biden didn’t take the sound advice offered by
:Madam Vice President, Mister Weird-Ass Porn-Obsessed Speaker, our First Lady and Second Gentleman, members of Congress and the Cabinet, Justices of the Supreme Court, my fellow Americans —
now, before we start: hey Marjorie Three Toes — try to keep your braying to a minimum. this is supposed to be a solemn occasion. and you, Handy Oakley — try not to fall out of your dress. this isn’t Beetlejuice the Musical. both of you, sit the fuck down and shut the fuck up. nobody wants to see a repeat of your disgraceful behavior from previous years. you’re government officials and grown adults. it’s time to act like it.
ok, on with the show.
the state of our union is … pretty fucking awesome.
three years ago, I inherited an utter shit-show. the worst pandemic in a century. the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War.
Then he goes on with a pretty impressive laundry list of the President’s accomplishments. Honestly, given the shit show he inherited from Orange Jesus, it’s a wonder he’s been able to get anything done.
Despite the heckling, President Biden was up for the challenge. He met the considerable pushback he received with facts and gave as good (and usually better) than he got. This was not the President that Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) portrayed in the Republican response as a doddering old fool (more on that later).
Joe Biden was in the well of the House to kick ass and take names…and he did both with aplomb. It was a beautiful thing to behold. The Republicans present looked like recalcitrant children, while the President came off as the adult in the room…which he was.
It was clear the President didn’t set out with a pugilistic attitude, but he the moment and returned fire as appropriate. It was a beautiful thing to behold.
He could’ve met the hate he’s received with resentment, but as
observed, Joe Biden has never been that person:Progress, possibilities and resilience were key features of President Biden’s State of the Union address. It was filled with great moments that we should all take pride in and, of course, some embarrassing moments from MAGA Republicans which were just beyond deplorable.
After 20 minutes of thunderous applause and magnanimous cheers from both parties, in his typical disarming fashion, Biden kicked it off with a joke: “If I were smart, I’d go home now.”
This quote really captured the theme of his speech: “My lifetime has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy. A future based on the core values that have defined America: honesty, decency, dignity, equality. To respect everyone. To give everyone a fair shot. To give hate no safe harbor. Now some other people my age see a different story: an American story of resentment, revenge, and retribution. That’s not me.”
No, it’s not. And we couldn’t be happier about it.
Indeed. The President could’ve chosen to wallow in the darkness the GOP calls home, but he’s always been one to live on the sunny side, which is perfect for the times America finds itself in. This is a challenging, bumpy, and, yes, frightening time, but America has been through many scary times in its quarter-millennium of existene. Somehow, it’s managed to come out the other side intact, if scarred and in need of a few repairs.
The good news is we face a choice between a man who lives in the light (Joe Biden) and one who’s hip-deep in criminality, immorality, and darkness (Donald Trump). It shouldn’t be a difficult choice, yet millions of Americans seem drawn to darkness.
What the President did so masterfully during his SOTU was to set up his speech early on. He didn’t bury the lede and used his first 15 minutes to set up what was to follow, per
:The theme of the week here has been the importance of looking backward.
Not that Democrats need to give themselves over to slagging Donald Trump and the GOP 100 percent of the time. Democrats without a policy agenda would be doomed. But as it happens, this is one aspect of campaigning Democrats don’t struggle with. Whether or not you believe their policies are wise or far-reaching enough, they are popular. Democrats know how to talk about them, and they’ve enacted many, many over the past decade.
But with Trump unvanquished, and hook-or-crook desperate to return to office, it’s essential that the public not forget his disastrous presidency or the danger he poses to freedom in the U.S. and around the world. And to the extent voters have forgotten they need to be reminded.
That’s why the first 15 minutes of Biden’s third State of the Union address were so, so important—both as an answer to the discourse of the moment, and for setting the tone of the campaign to come.
It’s been interesting over the past year or so to see Democrats slink away from the lesson of the 2022 midterms: Voters hate MAGA, they hate the insurrection and lies about 2020, they hate Dobbs and all its inhumane consequences. As Biden’s poll numbers have slipped, the party has tried to revive them by lurching rightward, into issue spaces that Republicans dominate. And Republicans have been all too eager to troll Democrats into doing just that.
At the very top of his speech, when viewership and interest were at their peak, President Biden used his first few minutes to preview the points he would make later.
broke it down like this:The President hammered Donald Trump for encouraging Vladimir Putin to conquer Ukraine and attack NATO.
He went after Trump and the GOP for attempting to bury the truth about January 6th.
He encouraged Republicans to stop lying about their views on IVF and to pass legislation to protect it nationwide.
He contrasted his stance on abortion with Trump’s promise to abolish Roe v. Wade. The President then promised to make Roe the law of the land.
He attacked Trump for ignoring one of the most basic responsibilities of a President- the duty to care.
It wasn’t a perfect speech, but, at well over an hour, it was an impressive display of stamina and his ability to think on his feet. Not bad for an 81-year-old man, yeah? The President was combative and energetic, and he met the moment with both barrels. Those who expected to see a doddering old man tripping over himself had to be sorely disappointed.
One of my favorite lines from the speech, and one that gave me hope that his performance would be full of pugilistic energy, was one I picked up from
:“When American falls down, we get back up! That’s America! Because of YOU! The state of our union is stong and getting stronger!”
Joe Biden is facing an opponent who, on any given day, is prone to giving a speech that, as
says is “full of lies.” That’s not a “today” thing. Or even a “one-off.” That’s the default, every-damned-day thing.It’s Donald Trump’s default setting…because he has nothing positive to offer.
Now all the President and his Democratic surrogates have to do is figure out how to convince Americans- including a good chunk of MAGA World- that Donald Trump is a liar- all shit, and no show.
My impression of the speech was similar to that of
, who observed that the President’s speech was unlike anything America has seen in a State of the Union. I couldn’t agree more. It was a tour de force.Just when you think Joe Biden can’t top himself, he dramatically exceeds expectations in ways that are awe-inspiring and riveting. And that’s what happened last night in the State of the Union address.
The pressure on the president was enormous. Batted about by the media for weeks over his age—a largely overblown issue that they harped on for months, spurred on the Trump-appointed special counsel, while push-polling Americans—Biden knew his performance was going to get intense scrutiny. His energy level, his enunciation of every word, his every pause—all of it would be watched.
On top of that, he needed to make the case about the urgency of the moment we are in while selling his domestic achievements that the media has downplayed as the economy has roared back and build on them with new ideas for another term.
Biden did all that and more. He was firm, aggressive, urgent, lucid, passionate, and deeply detailed….
Mike Johnson squirmed in his seat. None of the GOP members knew whether to applaud or not because they are the ones keeping us from fighting fascism, both at home and abroad.
Half of the fun was watching Speaker Johnson squirm in his seat. Not accustomed to sitting in the Speaker’s chair during the SOTU, the man has a terrible poker face.
thought he needed to poop, which, if true, must have been excruciating.And then there was the Republican response of Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL), whose performance was every bit as brutal as the President’s was a home run.
I’ll grant that Sen. Britt was put in a no-win position, but she did nothing to improve that deficit. The speech took place in her kitchen, which fairly screamed, “Hi, I’m Katie Britt, part-time Senator and full-time Stepford wife.”
Yes, that’s uncharitable, but her vocal cadence and inflection were that of someone holding back barely concealed, overcoached rage. And
, who found much about her speech worthy of satirizing, did have fun with it:Good evening, America.
My name is Katie Britt, and I am the other senator from Alabama. I am delivering the Republican response to Joe Biden’s State of the Union, because optics, and I guess because I’m not Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Am I crying? I don’t know. [Sniff!] If I am, it’s because of brown people, as you will soon see. I represent white people, I think we can all agree on that.
I am a senator, but most importantly I am [Sniff!] the mother of Weathyrleigh and Rymbrandt, GO TO BED, RYMBRANDT!
Where was I?
I am speaking to you from my kitchen, which is where Republicans keep the women. My husband Wesley and I watched Joe Biden in the living room. But usually at this time of day, Wesley and I are in the kitchen, doing our marital worrying.
Because Joe Biden.
Joe Biden doesn’t get it. He doesn’t understand that according to white conservatives’ feelings, the country is doing very badly, despite all the facts to the contrary. The country we know and love seems to be slipping away, this is a crying part because it’s a racist dogwhistle.
I was born a poor white girl in Enterprise, Alabama, and now I am in the Senate. I am an American success story! But also my life is a nightmare, much like yours. Why? Because border.
Some might say that I was part of the group that negotiated that bipartisan border bill with James Lankford and then proceeded to vote against it, but those people are MSDNC lesbians.
In Sen. Britt’s defense, Rachel Maddow was on the MSDNC MSNBC panel analyzing the SOTU and her response…which is apropos of, well, not much of anything.
And there was more….
Now I will tell you an extremely graphic story about cartels raping sex-trafficked women, which is horrifying, and also somehow Joe Biden’s fault. I am telling you this story not because I actually care about the victims, but because racist Republicans need you to believe that every person who shows up at the border is a sex-trafficking cartel rapist, and also a fentanyl salesperson.
Next I will tell you about a white woman who was murdered by somebody from a country on the non-US American side of border. Whenever possible, our Birth Of A Nation party likes to highlight a white woman who was murdered by a minority, or might have been murdered by a minority, and talk about it incessantly. Sometimes we name a bill after her. Don’t worry, you don’t have to remember her name two weeks from now!
Sometimes it’s not even a white woman! It’s always a white person though.
Are these senseless, gruesome tragedies? Yes. [Sniff!]
Are Republicans exploiting these victims to further our xenophobic agenda, to appeal to Nazis and white nationalists — AKA our base AKA the good people on both sides — who believe in conspiracy theories about Jews paying minorities to invade the southern border to replace us? Also yes.
Joe Biden did not even admit tonight that he is responsible for all these murders, by personally releasing the illegal border crossers into our homeland.
Turrible, turrible things…and they’re ALL Joe Biden’s fault. HE did this…or at least didn’t stop them, and now good, God-fearing, White Conservative Christian Cisgender Heterosexual patriots are dead!
Never mind that Sen. Britt’s story about the woman who was sex-trafficked is fundamentally dishonest.
Yes, President Biden PERSONALLY released all of those illegal criminal elements into America to do their worst, to rape, pillage, and burn. And so they did.
Why does Joe Biden not care about good, God-fearing, White Conservative Christian Cisgender Heterosexual patriots?? Why does he only care about MSDNC lesbians??
AMERICA DEMANDS ANSWERS!!
Sadly, if Sen. Britt was auditioning for the Republican Caucus’ Spring play, she failed the audition. The poor woman couldn’t act her way out of a wet paper sack.
Not to be uncharitable, but that was a brutal, awful, and utterly unwatchable performance. I kept waiting for the “LIVE FROM NEW YORK! IT’S SATURDAY NIGHT!” that would’ve mercifully ended her attempted star turn.
Sadly, it never came.
Watching Sen. Britt’s performance, a few words came to mind:
ridiculously overcooked
overwrought
overcoached
emotionally overinflated
hammy
WAY too much
If her speech had been a steak, it would’ve come to the table cooked “well done” and with the texture and taste of one of Ted Cruz’s cowboy boots. There was nothing genuine or believable about it. Former Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is probably relieved. He can finally give up his claim to the title of “Worst Republican SOTU Response EVER.”
Nice try, Republicans…but you still don’t get it, do you? The point of being in government is to govern. All y’all seem to want to do is create chaos. MAGA voters may not be smart enough to see y’all for the fakes you are, but increasing numbers of non-MAGA Americans are.
Eventually, there will be a price to be paid for that. But the GOP will never wise up enough to figure that out, will they?
No, they won’t…and that will be a good day for America.
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The speech pattern, I'm told, is an actual thing in the South. I ought go back and find the precise term, but that would involve work I'm not interested in doing; it is something like "southern baby mama voice."
I read somewhere on FB a description of Mike Johnson, that he looked like a puppet after the ventriloquist had gone to take a pee and just left him sitting on the chair.
Excellent post, excellent observations. Biden gave what is likely to be the most impactful speech of his presidency. The only thing that surprised me a bit was the energy that he did it with. But I'm not in the least surprised by his coherence, his passion, and his humor, because if you actually watch the man, instead of believing all the senile-old-man bullshit, you'd know that that has always been a myth. People either don't know or forget that Biden is a lifelong stutterer, that's why he sometimes pauses, it's not from old age. We'll see in the weeks ahead, but I expect that we will see the effect of his SOTU address reflected in favorable poll numbers. There's actually already polls showing him leading Trump, and these were done before the SOTU, so I'm confident that we'll see more of this.