Honoring the House Chambers and American Citizens, or Providing a Clown Car Show?

 

Instead of doing the difficult work of deciding how to improve their own party and how best to serve the American people, the Democrats decided to provide a disgusting display of rebellion in the House of Representatives and to conduct their own “clown car show.” Their unwillingness to be responsible to the people and dignify the House with a demonstration of respect and honor for the building itself, as well as showing respect for the position of the President, whether they like President Trump or not, is a violation of the foundations of our government.

Of course, the Left has been showing its disdain for the Right, and to the American people, at every opportunity that it gets.

Now we have Democrats who’ve decided to make a scene at the President’s first address to Congress this term. Several of them have decided not to attend his speech in protest. Others have heard from their leaders not to disrupt the President’s speech:

‘The part that we all agree on is that this is not business as usual and we would like to find a way — productively — to express our outrage,’ one lawmaker told Axios.

Democratic leaders reportedly encouraged members in closed-door meetings this week to keep their protests civil, however, with many arguing that major outbursts would only help Trump.

‘There are definitely a lot of constituents that really want Democrats to disrupt and there are constituents who feel like that just plays into his hands,’ another lawmaker told the outlet.

Still, some Democrats refuse to listen to reason and are making threats that range from the insulting to the ridiculous.

Democrats don’t realize that in attacking the President regarding his actions, they are ignoring the commitments that he has made to the American people. They want to shine a light on what they call the injustice and unfairness that the President has authorized through the work of DOGE. Sadly, they have already forgotten that the voters selected Trump, in part, because they wanted him to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse from the government. Reducing the workforce is one way to accomplish that objective, but the Democrats are unwilling to see the bloat, excessiveness and mishandling that defines our government. They are showing a complete lack of respect for the American people by ignoring their mandate to clean up government, and by inviting fired federal workers to the President’s speech, they are manipulating the former workers to make their case and are making a spectacle of them. The House itself will be denigrated by their efforts, and they should be ashamed of using these workers for their selfish purposes. Many Democrats have extended this invitation.

Some Democrats are still threatening demonstrations:

  • Signs with anti-Trump or anti-DOGE messages — just as Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) held up a sign during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech last year that said “war criminal.”
  • Eggs or empty egg cartons to highlight how inflation is driving up the price of eggs.
  • Pocket constitutions to make the case that Trump has been violating the Constitution by shutting down congressionally authorized agencies.
  • Hand clappers, red cards like those held up to express disagreement at town halls, and various other props have also been discussed.
  • Pink: The Democratic Women’s Caucus wants all their members to wear pink in a unified display of defiance to a president many of them despise.
  • Black: Female members of the Congressional Black Caucus have separately discussed donning black to more accurately capture the party’s somber mood.
  • Blue and yellow: Ukraine Caucus co-chair Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) will distribute ties and scarves with the colors of Ukraine’s flag to signal support for President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Will sanity and dignity prevail in spite of these petty and childish threats to be held during the President’s speech, which has been likened to the State of the Union? Will Democrats continue to make poor decisions in winning back the hearts and minds of the American people?

*     *     *     *

The Democrats didn’t disappoint. They shouted, waved signs, interrupted the President, made their mysterious wardrobe statements, refused to applaud the heroes who were guests, and stomped out of the Chambers. I have no idea if the fired federal employees were there. I guess these demonstrations made them feel powerful.

I doubt that the American people were impressed.

Published in Politics
This post was promoted to the Main Feed at the recommendation of Ricochet members. Like this post? Want to comment? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Join Ricochet for Free.

There are 22 comments.

Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.
  1. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    Susan Quinn: Pocket constitutions to make the case that Trump has been violating the Constitution by shutting down congressionally authorized agencies.

    I’m surprised they didn’t burn the Democrats fingers much like holding a cross would burn Dracula’s . . .

    • #1
  2. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    Is this a political party or a kindergarten?

    (I apologize to any five-year-olds who take offense at the comparison.)

    • #2
  3. Susan Quinn Member
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Percival (View Comment):

    Is this a political party or a kindergarten?

    (I apologize to any five-year-olds who take offense at the comparison.)

    I just couldn’t get over how childish their actions were. It was clear that they either had no idea how the American public would react, or didn’t care. Or both.

    • #3
  4. Columbo Member
    Columbo
    @Columbo

    These are petulant children who have had their toys taken away! Not a rational cell in their puny brains.

    • #4
  5. Columbo Member
    Columbo
    @Columbo

    overall 11,973 civilians have been killed, including 622 children, since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion in February, 2022 … [link]

    • #5
  6. Brian Watt Member
    Brian Watt
    @BrianWatt

    Wearing pink to support women but also supporting men who physically abuse women on the playing field or court; while pressuring young impressionable and confused girls to believe they were born in the wrong body; while also supporting the physical mutilation of women by greedy surgeons; while also supporting the killing of female children in the womb by the millions.

    These aren’t just stupid or confused people – they’re ideologically possessed or worse and they’ve been using their political power for years to promote evil.

    My only regret about Trump’s speech is that he didn’t call them out more specifically and emphatically on this. 

    • #6
  7. Red Herring Coolidge
    Red Herring
    @EHerring

    We were just getting home from a baseball game where it was cold and windy, the last straw was the 0% chance of rain coming down on us. I decided to relax in my recliner with my small serving of whiskey rather than watch their clown show. The transcript will be up on the WH website soon. Judging from the commentary, I made the right decision. The contrast between Trump and the Dems should help Trump. 

    • #7
  8. Susan Quinn Member
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Red Herring (View Comment):

    We were just getting home from a baseball game where it was cold and windy, the last straw was the 0% chance of rain coming down on us. I decided to relax in my recliner with my small serving of whiskey rather than watch their clown show. The transcript will be up on the WH website soon. Judging from the commentary, I made the right decision. The contrast between Trump and the Dems should help Trump.

    It might not matter, but there are visual occurrences that would be missed without seeing it, and I wanted to see those: the holding up of stupid signs; the lack of applause and standing up for the special guests; the cute boy who’d recovered from cancer and who hugged the agent who “made him” a Secret Service agent. Also, since I was writing a post, I thought viewing it was helpful.

    • #8
  9. Sandra Blondie Bright Thatcher
    Sandra Blondie Bright
    @Blondie

    Red Herring (View Comment):

    We were just getting home from a baseball game where it was cold and windy, the last straw was the 0% chance of rain coming down on us. I decided to relax in my recliner with my small serving of whiskey rather than watch their clown show. The transcript will be up on the WH website soon. Judging from the commentary, I made the right decision. The contrast between Trump and the Dems should help Trump.

    Watch Louder with Crowder. It’s like listening to Rush the day after a speech like this. 

    • #9
  10. Red Herring Coolidge
    Red Herring
    @EHerring

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):

    Red Herring (View Comment):

    We were just getting home from a baseball game where it was cold and windy, the last straw was the 0% chance of rain coming down on us. I decided to relax in my recliner with my small serving of whiskey rather than watch their clown show. The transcript will be up on the WH website soon. Judging from the commentary, I made the right decision. The contrast between Trump and the Dems should help Trump.

    It might not matter, but there are visual occurrences that would be missed without seeing it, and I wanted to see those: the holding up of stupid signs; the lack of applause and standing up for the special guests; the cute boy who’d recovered from cancer and who hugged the agent who “made him” a Secret Service agent. Also, since I was writing a post, I thought viewing it was helpful.

    The memes should be great the next few days.

    • #10
  11. Randy Weivoda Moderator
    Randy Weivoda
    @RandyWeivoda

    Percival (View Comment):

    Is this a political party or a kindergarten?

    (I apologize to any five-year-olds who take offense at the comparison.)

    Neither party has a monopoly on childish behavior.

    • #11
  12. Jim McConnell Member
    Jim McConnell
    @JimMcConnell

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):

    Percival (View Comment):

    Is this a political party or a kindergarten?

    (I apologize to any five-year-olds who take offense at the comparison.)

    I just couldn’t get over how childish their actions were. It was clear that they either had no idea how the American public would react, or didn’t care. Or both.

    Like a bunch of unhappy toddlers; they can’t express their unhappiness verbally, so they “demonstrate” by stamping their feet and screaming.

    • #12
  13. GlennAmurgis Coolidge
    GlennAmurgis
    @GlennAmurgis

    Remember when corporate media were outraged out when Alito mouthed “NOT TRUE” during an Obama speech.  

    Now they are angry because there is not enough protests

    • #13
  14. MarciN Member
    MarciN
    @MarciN

    Randy Weivoda (View Comment):

    Percival (View Comment):

    Is this a political party or a kindergarten?

    (I apologize to any five-year-olds who take offense at the comparison.)

    Neither party has a monopoly on childish behavior.

    I know the story of that library in Vermont. It’s a great historical footnote in U.S.-Canada relations. She was very rude. Sigh. I hope things get back to normal soon. We’ve always had such a friendly and light-hearted relationship with Canada. From the article you cited: 

    Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem recently toured a library that straddled the United States-Canada border, and one remark she made repeatedly is angering both Americans and Canadians.

    The Boston Globe reported that Noem made the remark during an appearance at the Haskell Free Library and Opera House in Stanstead, Quebec and Derby Line, Vermont. The library has both American and Canadian flags and a line of black electrical tape on the floor that marks the international border for visitors.

    During her visit, the Globe reported that Noem stood on the American side of the library and said “USA number one,” before stepping to the Canadian side and saying: “The 51st state.” This echoes President Donald Trump’s rhetoric, in which he has repeatedly referred to Canada as the “51st state” and outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “governor.”

    “She did it at least three times and was very clear in saying, ‘USA No. 1,’ and didn’t even say ‘Canada.’ Just, ‘The 51st state,'” said Deborah Bishop, who is the library’s executive director.

    Noem’s comments garnered outrage on social media. University of Ottawa professor Roland Paris called it “insulting, shameful and professional. But most of all . . . childish.” Reason editor-at-large Matt Welch lamented: “We are governed by four year-olds.” Former Obama administration appointee Bart Acocella characterized it as “utterly deranged behavior.” And Doug Saunders, who is an international affairs columnist for the Canadian publication Globe and Mail, grimly made a comparison to the Ukraine war, tweeting: “This is not too far from how it started in Donetsk.”

    “This is juvenile behavior unbecoming of someone with even a tiny bit of responsibility,” tweeted Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, who is a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council.

     

    • #14
  15. Rodin Moderator
    Rodin
    @Rodin

    The term “political theatre” exists for a reason. It has a long history. It varies from raucous to polished. In the television age we became used to national level theatre being polished, even though untelevised events at all levels remained raucous to very degrees. The term “red meat” persists in our political jargon for that reason. President Trump, with his reality TV sensibilities, brought raucous back to the national stage. It has made many politicians from the “polished” school to try (and fail) the raucous form of political theatre. It has many more pitfalls that the polished form. President Trump put on a master class at the SOTU. Even ua Democrat operative admits as such.

    In contrast the Democrat counter offensive fell desperately flat. Sullenness while people affected by various Democrat bad policies or Trump good policies was not a good look.

    Personally I prefer my political “meat” to be medium or medium well done. But we seem to be in an age where everything is served raw. It is nothing new, but nation and world-wide viewing created a demand for “polished” for awhile. 

    • #15
  16. Rodin Moderator
    Rodin
    @Rodin

    MarciN (View Comment):

    Randy Weivoda (View Comment):

    Percival (View Comment):

    Is this a political party or a kindergarten?

    (I apologize to any five-year-olds who take offense at the comparison.)

    Neither party has a monopoly on childish behavior.

    I know the story of that library in Vermont. It’s a great historical footnote in U.S.-Canada relations. She was very rude. Sigh. I hope things get back to normal soon. We’ve always had such a friendly and light-hearted relationship with Canada. From the article you cited:

    Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem recently toured a library that straddled the United States-Canada border, and one remark she made repeatedly is angering both Americans and Canadians.

    The Boston Globe reported that Noem made the remark during an appearance at the Haskell Free Library and Opera House in Stanstead, Quebec and Derby Line, Vermont. The library has both American and Canadian flags and a line of black electrical tape on the floor that marks the international border for visitors.

    During her visit, the Globe reported that Noem stood on the American side of the library and said “USA number one,” before stepping to the Canadian side and saying: “The 51st state.” This echoes President Donald Trump’s rhetoric, in which he has repeatedly referred to Canada as the “51st state” and outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “governor.”

    “She did it at least three times and was very clear in saying, ‘USA No. 1,’ and didn’t even say ‘Canada.’ Just, ‘The 51st state,’” said Deborah Bishop, who is the library’s executive director.

    Noem’s comments garnered outrage on social media. University of Ottawa professor Roland Paris called it “insulting, shameful and professional. But most of all . . . childish.” Reason editor-at-large Matt Welch lamented: “We are governed by four year-olds.” Former Obama administration appointee Bart Acocella characterized it as “utterly deranged behavior.” And Doug Saunders, who is an international affairs columnist for the Canadian publication Globe and Mail, grimly made a comparison to the Ukraine war, tweeting: “This is not too far from how it started in Donetsk.”

    “This is juvenile behavior unbecoming of someone with even a tiny bit of responsibility,” tweeted Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, who is a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council.

     

    Trolling Trudeau as “governor” and Canada as a potential “51 st state” is fine as humor, but it can be overdone and I think cabinet officers should leave it to President Trump as and when to deploy it. As a civic matter anyone who thinks its a bad idea for California to have so much influence in the House of Representatives should think twice about Canada, with comparable population to California, being integrated  as a single state. Ironically, Canadians should see this as a great opportunity to Canadize the US if we were ever so foolish. 

    • #16
  17. Randy Weivoda Moderator
    Randy Weivoda
    @RandyWeivoda

    Rodin (View Comment):

    The term “political theatre” exists for a reason. It has a long history. It varies from raucous to polished. In the television age we became used to national level theatre being polished, even though untelevised events at all levels remained raucous to very degrees. The term “red meat” persists in our political jargon for that reason. President Trump, with his reality TV sensibilities, brought raucous back to the national stage. It has made many politicians from the “polished” school to try (and fail) the raucous form of political theatre. It has many more pitfalls that the polished form. President Trump put on a master class at the SOTU. Even ua Democrat operative admits as such.

    In contrast the Democrat counter offensive fell desperately flat. Sullenness while people affected by various Democrat bad policies or Trump good policies was not a good look.

    Personally I prefer my political “meat” to be medium or medium well done. But we seem to be in an age where everything is served raw. It is nothing new, but nation and world-wide viewing created a demand for “polished” for awhile.

    I cannot disagree with a word you say here.  I nevertheless resent it when politicians craft their messages to appeal to the dumbest voters.  I’m not some high-brow intellectual who went to an Ivy League school (or any college, anywhere).  I don’t expect all politicians to present like William F. Buckley, but I sure wish they would aim higher than Archie Bunker.

    • #17
  18. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    Brian Watt (View Comment):

    These aren’t just stupid or confused people – they’re ideologically possessed or worse and they’ve been using their political power for years to promote evil.

    I no longer care whether or not they honestly believe what they do.  I can only conclude that these people are evil, and “good intentions” no longer applies . . .

    • #18
  19. Susan Quinn Member
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Rodin (View Comment):
    Personally I prefer my political “meat” to be medium or medium well done. But we seem to be in an age where everything is served raw. It is nothing new, but nation and world-wide viewing created a demand for “polished” for awhile. 

    A very thoughtful comment, Rodin. Thanks.

    • #19
  20. Susan Quinn Member
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Randy Weivoda (View Comment):
    I cannot disagree with a word you say here.  I nevertheless resent it when politicians craft their messages to appeal to the dumbest voters.  I’m not some high-brow intellectual who went to an Ivy League school (or any college, anywhere).  I don’t expect all politicians to present like William F. Buckley, but I sure wish they would aim higher than Archie Bunker.

    I don’t think Trump is so much trying to appeal to Archie Bunker types, but rather to people who are simply normal and down-to-earth. I mostly like it.

    • #20
  21. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    Rodin (View Comment):
    In contrast the Democrat counter offensive fell desperately flat. Sullenness while people affected by various Democrat bad policies or Trump good policies was not a good look.

    I for one was entertained by Al Green’s reenactment of the climax of The Mark of Zorro with his cane.

    • #21
  22. Yarob Coolidge
    Yarob
    @Yarob

    Susan Quinn: Instead of doing the difficult work of deciding how to improve their own party and how best to serve the American people, the Democrats decided to provide a disgusting display of rebellion in the House of Representatives and to conduct their own “clown car show.” Their unwillingness to be responsible to the people and dignify the House with a demonstration of respect and honor for the building itself, as well as showing respect for the position of the President, whether they like President Trump or not, is a violation of the foundations of our government.

    If I go back to February 2023 in Ricochet, will I find you and other fans of the OI denouncing Republicans for their equally disgraceful behavior at Biden’s SOTU address? I doubt it, somehow, but I would be happy to be proved wrong. Let’s face it, nobody’s worried about dignity and respect and violations of the foundations of our government, it’s just a question of whose ox is being gored.

    • #22
Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.