[Above, Republicans in the House attend SOTU during happier times. -- eds.]
It’s that time of year again, when the House Republican leader has an adult talk with fellow Republicans and begs them to act like big kids during the president’s State of the Union speech. Well, that speech is this Thursday, and Axios reports that Speaker Mike Johnson put on his best fifth-grade-teacher voice during a closed-door conference on Wednesday and cautioned his caucus to act professional. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Seriously, though. He did.
Johnson told members, "we should be professional, we should maintain a high standard of decorum," said Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.).
"He's reminding us to be respectful of the institution ... and to the president of the United States and the office, whether we agree or not," said Rep. Mark Alford (R-Mo.).
Yesteryear Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy made similar statements about being “respectful” of President Joe Biden during his 2023 State of the Union speech. The previous year’s speech saw Reps. Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene repeatedly heckle Biden. Boebert even interrupted Biden as he spoke about his son Beau, who died in 2015. McCarthy seemed to want to get out in front of such disrespectful optics.
That didn’t work out particularly well, since Greene made a big spectacle out of herself last year, receiving well-deserved ridicule across social media.
McCarthy went on to blame Biden for “trying to goad” the Republican Party’s more “passionate” members. I mean, for one, if this were true, then Biden didn’t try anything—he succeeded.
The chances of things going south in the etiquette department on Thursday are high. With the vitriol passing between House members like Greene and Boebert over the past year, it is hard to say whether all of their general obnoxiousness will be directed at the president or one another.
Will the current House speaker also attempt to blame Biden? If Johnson’s attempts to attack Biden and the Democrats for Republicans’ failure to pass a border security bill are any indication, the answer is yes.
Republished with permission from Daily Kos.
