Who Cares If Democrats Boycott Trump’s SOTU?
A few days ago, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) gave America some very welcome news. During a press conference he said that his Democratic members had two choices with regard to President Trump‘s upcoming State of the Union address: “The two options that are in front of us, in our house, is either attend with silent defiance, or to not attend.” This will definitely be a win-win for everyone who tunes in Tuesday evening to hear what the President has to say about his first-year accomplishments and future plans for the country. If the Democrats are silent or simply elsewhere, the SOTU is bound to be a far more dignified affair than usual.
Not that we won’t miss listening to Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) braying incoherent nonsense and waving his cane while being escorted out of the House chamber by the sergeant-at-arms, or watching our congressional representatives wave paddles in the air like so many vultures at an estate auction. Such asinine antics do have their entertainment value, of course, but most of the people who invest an hour or so of their time to watch President Trump speak will probably be more interested in the substance of his address than performative stunts. Nonetheless, for those who still yearn for sound and fury signifying nothing, a number of Democrats plan to participate in competing public events during the speech, according a report in NOTUS:
They’re instead boycotting the speech by going to counterprograms, launching their own responses outside the chamber or staying home. About 20 Democrats are already slated to attend “The People’s State of the Union” event on the National Mall, hosted by progressive organizations MoveOn and MeidasTouch. A spokesperson for MoveOn told NOTUS that number is expected to grow through Tuesday. And Defiance.org is hosting the “State of the Swamp” event at the National Press Club with several current and former lawmakers … While some are publicly revealing their plans, most Hill Democrats haven’t announced whether or not they will boycott Trump’s speech.
It doesn’t seem to have occurred to the Democrats who will join events staged by far left activist groups like MoveOn.org that they will be upstaging the person chosen by their leadership to deliver the official rebuttal to Trump’s SOTU — Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger. She will recite the Democratic response to the President’s address after he concludes his remarks. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), made much of his choice of Spanberger last week: “She knows Americans want lower costs, safer communities, and a stronger democracy — not chaos and corruption. Gov. Spanberger will lay out a clear path forward: lower everyday costs, protect healthcare, and defend the freedoms that define who we are as a nation.”
Nor is it difficult to predict what they will say about the President and his State of the Union address.
The SOTU rebuttal is a notoriously thankless job under the best of circumstances, yet party leadership often uses it to highlight “rising stars.” Sadly, it tends to have the opposite effect. Stacey Abrams, for example, was widely lauded by the Democrats and the corporate “news” media for her “historic” rebuttal of President Trump’s 2019 SOTU. Yet, she lost her much-anticipated 2022 gubernatorial race against Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and has since been mired in legal and financial scandals. Spanberger is another Democrat “rising star,” but she may succumb to the SOTU rebuttal curse after being upstaged by the following publicity hounds who plan to attend and speak at the MoveOn.org and Defiance.org counterprogramming rallies:
The “People’s State of the Union” rally:
- Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy
- Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith
- Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen
- Arizona Rep. Yassamin Ansari
- Vermont Rep. Becca Balint
- Texas Rep. Greg Casar
- Texas Rep. Veronica Escobar
- Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal
- Illinois Rep. Delia Ramirez
- New Jersey Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman
- Connecticut Rep. John Larson
The “State of the Swamp” rally:
- California Rep. Eric Swalwell
- Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton
- New York Rep. Dan Goldman
- Virginia Rep. Eugene Vindman
- Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden
- Minnesota Mayor Jacob Frey
- Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson
- Former Georgia state Rep. Stacey Abrams
Other Democrats who will boycott the President’s SOTU include Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.) and Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.). It isn’t clear where these people will be, but there is little doubt they will be armed with microphones. Nor is it difficult to predict what they will say about the President and his State of the Union address. They will use words like “authoritarian,” tell lurid tales about American citizens gunned down by ICE agents, claim that the economy has been destroyed by tariffs, insist that we are at war with Venezuela and that Trump is about to attack Iran. Moreover, all of this balderdash will be heavily leavened with dramatic lamentations about the J6 “insurrection.”
Which brings us back to the question posed in the title of this column: Does anyone care if Democrats boycott President Trump’s SOTU? At the risk of sounding like an old codger, this reminds me of a joke: A guy is driving through the country and encounters a fork in the road that doesn’t include a sign indicating which choice leads to his destination. He tells a man standing nearby where he’s headed and asks if it matters which way he goes. The man answers, “Not to me.” That’s how much anyone should care about the Democrat boycotts.
READ MORE from David Catron:
Redistricting Betrayal in Virginia