Twas the night before SOTU, and all through the House
Not a member was stirring, not even to grouse.
The prompters were hung ‘fore the podium with care
In hopes that Obama soon would be there.The partisans, nestled all snug in their beds,
dreamed of cross-the-aisle prom dates to enhance #NewTone cred.
And Bachmann, the wingnut, and Boehner, the sap,
had just settled down for a long winter’s nap.–me, last night, on Twitter
I’m not sure how much live-blogging/tweeting of the State of the Union I’ll do tonight. Maybe a lot, maybe only a little; I haven’t decided yet. My parents are in town, and will be watching with us, so that’s one factor. Another factor is how successfully we’re able to manage the conflict between the speech and the girls’ bedtimes. Still another factor is that I might like to actually listen to the speech, and live-tweeting tends to equal live-snarking, which is a very different way of experiencing a speech from actual, honest-to-goodness listening. But, who am I kidding, I’ll end up live-tweeting at least somewhat. Even if I plan not to, I’ll grab my iPhone or laptop the instant Boehner makes a face or Biden yawns or the camera pans to some bipartisan odd couple sitting together awkwardly. I can’t help myself. 🙂
In any event, until the big event this evening, this thread is your venue to talk about the speech: What do you expect? What are you hoping for? What should Obama say? What will he say? Why is Wisconsin men’s basketball coach Bo Ryan giving the Republican response? (What? Paul Ryan? Oh. Never mind.) What sort of crazy s**t will Michele Bachmann say in the Tea Party Response? Why isn’t Bernie Sanders giving a Socialist Response? Which member of the Cabinet will skip the speech? Will the Supreme Court show up? What random members of the public will Obama point out during the speech? How drunk will people get if they play the SOTU drinking game? (Hint: very.) Make no mistake: there’s a lot to talk about. So let me be clear: comment away!
Why isn’t Bernie Sanders giving a Socialist Response?
Because it would only be one word: Amen 😉
P.S. You mean there are actually socialists in the Senate? Umm, OMG SOCIALISM??
Heh.
That’s the thing, though. It actually wouldn’t be “Amen” at all. Sanders would find a lot to disagree with, just as even non-socialist progressives have taken enormous issue with lots of Obama’s policies so far. That’s why a Socialist or Progressive rebuttal to the SOTU might be helpful to Obama, to remind people that he’s actually not the crazy leftist he’s painted as.
Yes, I kid. I’m sure even Obama isn’t leftwing enough for the likes of Sanders. But it’s useful to remember, whenever liberals sarcastically dismiss any characterization of anything Democrats or progressives do as socialist, that there actually are socialists in Congress (including the Senate).
Is, not are. 🙂 And I suspect European socialists would scoff at Sanders’s claim to the mantle of socialism, though perhaps I’m wrong about that.
But even one makes the point pretty well I think. Republicans are routinely called fascists by Democrats and the Left, and Democrats are routinely called socialists by Republicans and the Right. However, to my knowledge there haven’t been any self-described fascists in Congress (at least not in recent memory). Moreover, I doubt that the most extreme rightwing state in the country (Texas?) would elect a self-described fascist to the Senate. It just goes to show that not all “caricatures” are created equal — some are less ridiculous than others.
Speaking of European socialists, my guess is that they would consider Obama and Sanders not too far off from socialism of the mainstream European variety. Both would probably agree to a large extent with the utility model of economic theory of the modern Democratic Socialist party of, say, Germany. Tony Blair and Gordon Brown are self-described socialists. In this country, however, socialism is often conflated with Stalinism, Marxism-Leninism, etc., probably as a result of the Cold War. Properly understood, the term “socialist” isn’t as radioactive as the Left (or the Right) thinks it is.