GOP’s hot new craze: Why everyone wants to give a State of the Union response this year

[applegrove]

GOP’s hot new craze: Why everyone wants to give a State of the Union response this year

by Alex Pareene at Salon

http://www.salon.com/2014/01/27/gops_hot_new_craze_why_everyone_wants_to_give_a_state_of_the_union_response_this_year/

"SNIP..................................


Are you ready for the television event of the year? That’s right: It’s almost time for the annual State of the Union address and its rapidly multiplying responses. Tomorrow, following the president’s address, Americans will also (if they choose to) hear from three separate elected Republicans. Because if there’s anything Americans love more than lengthy speeches from politicians, it’s three successive lengthy speeches from politicians. Maybe this year my pitch for C-SPAN Redzone will finally catch on?

Last year, the official Republican response to the president’s State of the Union address was delivered by a famously parched Sen. Marco Rubio. Then there was another response, from Sen. Rand Paul, representing the Tea Party. This year, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rogers will deliver the official Republican response, followed by a Tea Party response from Sen. Mike Lee. And then Rand Paul will also deliver a response, representing … himself.

When Michele Bachmann delivered her “Tea Party” response to the State of the Union in 2011, it seemed unlikely to become a tradition. But the next year, presidential candidate and pizza magnate Herman Cain delivered his own Tea Party response. Then came Paul, who apparently enjoyed it so much that he decided to deliver his own totally unaffiliated response speech Tuesday, to be posted on YouTube and sent out directly to his followers and fans via his email list.

Traditionally, the official opposition party response to the State of the Union was an opportunity to take advantage of free airtime to deliver the party’s official platform and message to a captive national audience (back when the speech was the only thing on TV). The response was sometimes used to showcase a party’s rising stars, but it was also common to have it delivered by recognized and respected senior members of Congress.




................................SNIP"

[Tx4obama]

1. And today on FoxNews' show 'The Five' they said that Pres Obama shouldn't give a speech...

... that he should just 'mail' it over to Congress in a letter. LOL

[Newsjock]

2. And if the networks give airtime to all three of these wackos ...

... it's worth keeping in mind so that we, too, can get three times the response time next time some Republican tries to address the nation. We should get an official Democratic Party response, a "progressive" response, and yes, a "Third Way" response.

And you know, as well as I do, just how unlikely that would be.

[Arcanetrance]

3. If there's one request to the media I could have granted

When referring to Herman Cain as a pizza magnate please use quotations around pizza. That is not pizza it's like when he came up with the godfather pizza concept he said how can I make pizza huts pizza worse

[SoCalDem]

4. Shame on the media for airing the others

I know it's customary to air a "rebuttal" from the GOP (or Dem, if the president is a republican), but even that feels odd. The SOTU is a right of the president (although not required by the constitution..yearly )

Let the wannabees post their tirades online for their minions....of let them all go on Fox and have a speech-party

[Cha]

5. No shit. President Obama is honoring this guy

in the Presidential box.. and it's going to be a hellava SOTU. They have to get their whiny sociopathic lies in there don't they? Be funny if the corp newz stations lost ratings right after the reality based.. POTUS' SOTU.



"Obama to honor Gov. Beshear in State of the Union; Ky. Governor heads to DC"

DIrish http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014710877

rand paul represents this.. and nothing else.



mahalo apple~

[applegrove]

6. Hey Cha.

[Cha]

7. KIck!