Posted on 09/07/2011 11:24:30 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
At one time, opposition parties had to demand air time for responses to presidential speeches given to joint sessions of Congress. Those mainly consisted of State of the Union rebuttals, because Presidents don’t normally ask for joint sessions except to speak on matters of high moment, such as declaration of wars or celebrating the end of them. Now, however, the rebuttal speech has become such a pro forma event that a waiver sends a message all its own (via the Drudge Report):
Boehner spokesman Mike Steel said Obama’s proposals on Thursday “will rise or fall on their own merits,” suggesting a GOP response was not needed.
“Republicans are, and have been, entirely focused on job creation. Every member of Congress, and — more importantly — the American people, will provide a reaction to the president’s address,” Steel said.
Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said there will be “plenty” of response to the president’s speech on Friday, but told Fox News he suspects the reason there’s no formal response is “the speaker doesn’t expect to hear much to respond to.”
In the early days of demanding opposition party responses, the accusation was that rebuttals were petty political acts. Now, according to Nancy Pelosi, refusing to rebut the President is an insult:
Pelosi said the party’s “silence” would “speak volumes about their lack of commitment to creating jobs.”
“The Republicans’ refusal to respond to the president’s proposal on jobs is not only disrespectful to him, but to the American people,” Pelosi said.
It’s now disrespectful to refuse to disagree with Obama? That takes “dissent is patriotic” to a whole new level, doesn’t it?
Boehner has played this well. He maneuvered Obama into a Thursday night address just before the NFL season opener, which means that fewer people will bother to tune in Obama and his demand for Porkulus II: Economic Boogaloo, and fewer would have stuck around to watch a designated Republican remind people that Obama’s “new” plan failed in 2009 when he had three times the funding for it. By waiving the response, Boehner bolsters the impression that Obama won’t be saying anything new at all, thus hardly requiring a response anyway.
Boehner also knows that the Republican presidential hopefuls will garner a lot more attention with their rebuttals than he will from a House anteroom while Green Bay and New Orleans kick off. Why not let the headline-grabbers make the case that Obama’s simply recycling his failures instead of formulating a new economic approach? Republicans in the House will have plenty of time to rip the proposal apart when it comes to Congress — assuming, of course, that it ever does come to Congress. Obama’s deficit reduction plan outlined in an April speech is still only seen on the sides of milk cartons in Washington DC.
What do you think? Disrespectful, masterful, or something in between? Take the poll:
Why would anyone respond to BS and hot air? Obama is a liar first class and an incompetent first class as well as being very un-American.
I’ve always thought rebuttals were dumb anyway, but in this case, I don’t think the repubs have any better ideas than obumer anyway.
It's interesting that a response or no response both have possible benefits and consequences I think Speaker Boehner is playing this the right way.
Different strategy is being used here. Instead of the usual partisan BS, the GOP is silent, making some people think for once in their lifetimes.
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If they stay with the traditional way, there will be more sitting and not applauding. That will show up BIG TIME as the cameras pan out over the two sides of the chamber.
I hope one of the the candidates tonight addresses Obummers speech and give a PRE-REBUTTAL with sound ideas and thoughts for jobs through the PRIVATE SECTOR!Perhaps this is the reason for the non-rebuttal... to open up the floor to the candidates.
If so... good move.
I like this idea. After Obummer fails, the talking heads on the MSM would just be focusing on what the GOP said to take attention away. As it stands, no one will watch this garbage and at the end, the MSM will be forced to discuss the egg this loser laid in this speech. The next day when people check in to see if anything happened, the MSM will be hand wringing over the rotten performance.
That hand is too deathly white to be Boenhers. Looks like McCain’s hand.
This speech is going to be so ho hum, same old, same old, why would you even dignify it with a response. Plus there will be plenty of republicans around taking questions afterwards that can respond should Oblame-o go bat spit crazy with his blame games and finger pointing. Oblame-o could go completely off the tracks tonight and if he does, let him take himself down in flames.
He deserves absolutely no respect from anybody. And old crazy Nancy Pelosi is relevant to what?
Boner will be crying too hard to make any statement. Dork!
"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt."
This is where Zero is at - the more he talks the more foolish and petty he appears.
There is no need to respond to Zero's tripe.
No real reaction to 0bama is needed until he puts his plan in writing and it is scored by the CBO.
Hillarious!
The talking heads will be reduced to “the GOP doesn’t have a jobs plan, “the GOP is disrespectful,” (or some such idiocy), and “the GOP didn’t do a rebuttal, what does that mean” and completely go off the rails on Obama’s jobs bunkum.
The MSM is screwed in all directions on this one.
Bravo!
They don’t need a response. They just need to add a laugh track.
Indeed, why comment on something that’s already been said before -
more government spending on “infrastructure”
more government spending on “unemployment insurance”
more government spending on “green jobs”
as a matter of fact, they ought to “pre-comment” on these issues, knowing that that’s all it will be about.
I believe his name is spelled "Boehner," though I'm sure they spell it your way over on DemocraticUnderground.
Rush is ‘responding’ to 0bummer right now.
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