Pelosi tells Democrats not to disrupt 'slobbering' Trump during SOTU

[DonViejo]

Source: Politico




By HEATHER CAYGLE 01/30/2018 12:35 PM EST

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is encouraging her caucus to behave during President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address tonight, saying the focus should be on “his slobbering self.”

Pelosi (D-Calif.) delivered the message to the House Democratic Caucus at their weekly private meeting Tuesday morning.

“Let the attention be on his slobbering self,” Pelosi told members, according to two sources in the room. “If you want to walk out, don’t come in.”

Democratic leaders are hoping to avoid any kind of disruptive moments a la Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), who yelled “you lie!” during President Barack Obama’s joint address to Congress in 2009.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/30/trump-state-of-the-union-2018-democrats-pelosi-377930?lo=ap_b1

[LisaM]

1. I can go along with that, BUT....

I don't think they should stand up for his talking points, either.

[bettyellen]

14. When have Dems stood up for Trumps talking points- links please?

Except for when he accidentally supported DACA or other Dem initiatives?

[LisaM]

17. I didn't say they did, but in the past, at the SOTU...

and even that weird speech he gave last year, people tend to stand up at applause lines and I don't think they should do that.

[bettyellen]

28. Oh, one would think you were concerned about things that actually have happened....

You really think Dems are going to stand and applaud him tonight? This is a genuine concern? Seems pretty far fetched to me- based on history.

[LisaM]

34. They stood and applauded for Bush, so yes, I do think it could happen.

I don't really see why you're jumping down my throat; I think we generally agree.

But if they could applaud anything Bush said, then I think it's distinctly possible it could happen tonight.

[bettyellen]

55. We were talking about Trump, but false equivalencies abound.

I hope you’re as wrong as I belive you to be. Unless he pledges Ron save DACA or something remarkable, I can’t see it.

[LisaM]

72. I was talking about the way lawmakers behave at SOTU addresses.

So "we" were talking about (mildly) different things. Unfortunately, there are plenty of political dog whistles that lawmakers jump up for. I'd hope that they don't humor him.

[bettyellen]

91. Ugh, I never paid as much attention to this before and I cannot belive some of the things that have

Gotten applause by Dems and Indy senators. Most are staying in their seats, but none so reliably as the Congressoonal Black Caucus. Kudos to them. This is depressing- how manipulative it all is. Sickening.

[Honeycombe8]

78. I'm going to be ticked off if they do. The Dems need to grow a pair and start

expressing their alarm and disapproval. This isn't a state dinner.

[Perseus]

76. There is always the concern

democrats will do something stupid just to be "bi-partisan" and decent...Al Franken anyone? Too many instances of not thinking before they act, so I understand the concern.

[bettyellen]

88. When we worry about decent behavior we lost the plot. As disturbed as I was about Franken...

I’m pretty sure he looked at what other images from his comedy career and what other fake anonymous reports there could be out there (given he’s hugged thousands over the years) and decided it was not a fight worth having at this time. It breaks my heart it happened, but I have to trust he felt like he was doing the right thing by not insisting on an investigation first.

[MFM008]

2. So no flinging poo?

[tblue37]

71. Yes, but Trump will be the one flinging poo. It's who he is. nt

[BlancheSplanchnik]

73. well, Lord Fatass probably knows he shouldnt,

But when does that ever stop him?

[rzemanfl]

3. Why? n/t

[OldHippieChick]

39. Just guessing

but it lowers us to their level and will only be used to make Dems look bad on Faux News. As much as I would love seeing someone give him a verbal finger, it truly is beneath us and high school. Nancy keeps hoping we will be the grown-ups despite how much harder and harder it becomes.

[rzemanfl]

84. Makes as much sense to me as getting rid of Franken did. n/t

[TranssexualKaren]

4. For better or for worse

The Democratic Party is married to a more reasonable, respectful and well educated class of voter, so we can’t get away with that sort of crap.

[iluvtennis]

11. That may be appropriate for normal times. But these are ABNORMAL times and we are in a fight for

democracy in this country. I want dems to FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT. Sometimes you have to act ugly to get your due.

[BigmanPigman]

20. BINGO!

I am sick of taking the high road and losing. We have taken the high road to the point where we have lost our country to a foreign enemy. It is waaaaay past time to take the gloves off!

[TranssexualKaren]

27. Irony

I had a German professor who grew up in Germany who told us that the irony of all war is that in the end you will become what you originally set out to destroy.

[bettyellen]

32. Well except that the Germans tried to destroy Jews and gay people... he had a point.

You’d almost think he was saying no one should have tried and stop them- both sides and all that.

[TranssexualKaren]

33. He was saying it by way of pointing out the futility of war

[bettyellen]

50. I know- but that means he thought WW2 was futile. Broad truisms are popular, but real

life is so much more complicated. In this case it’s a pretty disgusting false equivalency, and a German should know better- you’d think so anyway.

[TranssexualKaren]

58. So why is it that....

Today the U.S. is the fascist country and Germany is free?

[bettyellen]

62. So Germany should have been left to exterminate the Jews until they got bored with it? Okaaaay then.

That’s an interesting take on things- we are fascist and it’s becasue of WW2. Good lord, we helped rebuild Germany after WW2.... nothing happens in a vacuum- that’s over simplistic bullshit. I’d expect he blames Jews for WW2 as well, with that mindset. I wouldn’t be shocked if he did.

[TranssexualKaren]

63. No, but

Be conscious of the fact that when you come to view someone as an enemy you will at the same time find a sympathy with them. Similarly, if we surrender what is best in us as progressives by adopting Republican tactics we will become them.

[bettyellen]

66. At times,life gives you few good options. And doing nothing is a bad one. Which is why I hate

over simplistic aphorisms like that one might feel reassuring but honestly they just lead to the dumbing down of society. Might as well read “The Secret” and just “hope for the best” while throwing daggers at people trying to do something.

[TranssexualKaren]

24. Yes, but thats beside the point

We will be judged more harshly than they will. If unfair this is non the less true.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

44. Judged by whom?

Let 'em judge. Repugs have gotten away with too much. Children need consequences for crossing boundaries.

[TranssexualKaren]

60. Political reality is....

That Democrats fall in love, Republicans fall in line. Our ideas really are better than theirs and that in the end will win.

[hatrack]

69. I'm sure lots of Weimar liberals told themselves the same thing .. .

.

[OldHippieChick]

41. I hear you and it may be that Nancy

and I are too old for this fight. Perhaps we need the younger Dems to assert themselves more forcefully and convince us that acting like entitled children is the way to get it done.

[Sophia4]

56. I agree with you, iluvtennis.

[rainlillie]

74. ITA!!!!

[RKP5637]

81. Democrats are too passive IMO for what is going on in this country. Trump sees compromise and

Last edited Tue Jan 30, 2018, 09:16 PM - Edit history (1)

working together as weaknesses to be exploited. It's hard to tell just how far the US will fall under him, but there is nothing, absolutely nothing to ensure the US will continue on than the leaders of the opposition to what this guy is doing.

I've never seen the US at this state of perilous times. We could fail as a country. Trump and his regime are running rip shit over just about everything this country has stood for. Now, they want to rip apart, for example, the FBI and the DOJ. This is insanity and IMO a hostile attempt to take over the US with a foreign power. People really need to wake the fuck up!!!

[iluvtennis]

83. Ditto.

[xxqqqzme]

90. We are in the same place as we were

when W and company were talking about Iraq having violated UN sanctions, having chemical weapons, having WMDs, kicking UN inspectors out of Iraq, etc

Everyone and their dog knew W & Co were lying. If we knew, why the hell were the democrats acting like these were crimes. I remember cries of spinelessness and 'growing a pair' on here daily. Here we are again. Only now our country is being attacked and dismantled by a rethuglican white house, senate, and house. (I wonder, can the judiciary be far behind?) The cries are an echo from 14 years ago. Then impeachment was 'off the table'. Now it is 'silence'?

The rethugs disparage, belittle and endlessly obstruct the policies of the best president we have had in many years. The speaker sits and offers no reaction during his SOTU. Another graceless fool yells 'You lie' and is congratulated by his teabagger peers.

So King Con liar of all time, loser of popular vote, seller of US at bargain basement prices, destroyer of the best of the black guy's policies, gets silence?

[NewJeffCT]

5. well, if somebody shouted out "you lie"

every time Trump lied, they'd likely lose their voice from overuse

[mountain grammy]

21. Yes, that's true.

[FakeNoose]

65. Anybody who does that will be escorted out of the Chamber

Not sarcastic either. They will do it and make a big deal out of it too.
I agree with Pelosi on this one.

[Botany]

6. Let the attention be on his slobbering self, Pelosi told members.

Go Nancy Go!

[bucolic_frolic]

7. slobbering deplorables

this is two sides of the same coin

[Joe Nation]

8. Screw Civility!

It's time to scream from the top of our lungs...."THE EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES"

Else we are guilty of complicity in our own downfall.

[Judi Lynn]

15. It would be heavenly! If only it could be done publicly during his speech!

[saidsimplesimon]

9. Dear Madame Pelosi,

This is but another night for the apprentice looking for ratings. It is galling that you would ask those like Maxine Waters "to chill out". just my opinion

[brer cat]

52. Maxine won't be there. nt

[saidsimplesimon]

57. She said this long ago, thank you.

[procon]

10. A wheezing, snorting, gasping, sniffling Trump was bad enough, but he's slobbering, too?

In place of tonight's address couldn't we swap Trump for a pudgy old, sleeping Bulldog snoring on camera?

[magicarpet]

75. Shouldn't the bulldog be farting...... ? Too... ??

Tr-dump will be - for sure.

[LonePirate]

12. I stand with Pelosi here but I would sure love for someone to scream You lie! or Traitor

The spectacle would probably backfire in the short term. Still, it would inspire The Resistance and it would flummox him enough that he would lose his composure and ruin the remainder of his speech.

[Akoto]

13. Much as I wish they could be a prostesting crowd, it'd only be used against us. n/t

[Turn CO Blue]

16. Would it be considered disruptive to just stand quietly with back to BLOTUS?

THAT IS WHAT I WISH THEY WOULD DO!

Dumpster-fire would fall all over himself, lose his place, go way off-script if even one single congressperson stood and turned around for the speech.

[Chemisse]

46. He would look good in the end, after the Dems were publicly slaughtered for it.

The whole next day the news would be talking about that instead of criticizing Trump's idiocy.

[Raven123]

19. Just sit there and tweet away. Real time responses to his speech with the bonus that he can't tweet

[mountain grammy]

38. Oh I like that idea..

I think it'd drive him crazy to watch and he can't answer.

[DeminPennswoods]

22. Stony silence works for me

If there are patriotic moments when standing/applauding is required, then they can stand, but they don't have to react.

[CousinIT]

23. NONE of them should be attending. Every one should boycott the goddamned thing.n/t

[paleotn]

25. I won't be watching....

Sorry, but I'm just not into really bad reality tv.

[lark]

26. Pelosi gets it wrong again.

She didn't want to go after Bush treachery, which let drumpf know he could get away with it too, and far worse.

I think lots of Dems should walk out the minute he starts speaking, it's all lies anyway, so why bother making nice with someone who is really trying to destroy our constitutional way of life.

[Cha]

29. Wow.. Nancy's on a ROLL!

[mahannah]

30. Pelosi is tone deaf.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

36. No. She is skilled and knows to play the long game. Leave theatrics for the street. . . nt

[MBS]

70. " " " " n/t

[rzemanfl]

85. If someone doesn't stop playing nice and stand up to these shits the only

thing left will be the streets.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

89. She isn't playing nice in Congress & elsewhere. Did you even read her statement?

"slobbering" is certainly not a nice term to apply to a President, even if it is deserved.

She plays hardball in the House.

She is absolutely right that tonight the focus must be on the idiocy of the idiot. Shenanigans only take broadcast airtime away from the focus.

[FreepFryer]

93. +1000. (n/t)

[still_one]

43. She is making a suggesting. Democrats attending will do what they want to do.

[Gin]

31. IMO I hope he gets distracted....from the TelePrompTer....

And goes off the deep end! Bigly! 👍

[azureblue]

67. I am praying

the teleprompter goes out.......

[SoCalMusicLover]

35. Cowards

"If you want to walk out, don't come in."

Yeah, show some respect. He deserves it after all.

If the Democrats had any dignity, they would boycott en masse.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

37. 1) Respect for the office, 2) No respect for tRump

Show up, sit in stony silence.

Clap for motherhood and apple pie.

[SoCalMusicLover]

47. Respect For The Office Respect For Drumpf

Sitting in stony silence is ALWAYS what the opposition party does at SOTU speeches.

If they wanted to make a statement, DON'T SHOW UP!

The media will dismiss the sitting in silence as nothing unusual, since it happens every SOTU.

They could explain away accusations of no respect for the office, by explaining that it's the person in that office whom they have no respect for.

[catrose]

61. Yes, a half empty room would work

[LanternWaste]

96. It's bemusing watching you confuse maturity and cowardice.

It's bemusing watching you confuse maturity and cowardice.


The undisciplined mind is grand in its ability to see only what it wants to.

[still_one]

40. Of course the Politico headline is "telling them", instead of encouraging them. Representative

Pelosi has every right to suggest what she would like to see, and the Democrats attending the SOTU are going to make there own choices

Of course this isn't the divisionary headline that Politico would like to present, but it is the facts

[Kristofer Bry]

42. The Marquis of Queensbury Rules, Nancy? Really?

Why not cut out the half-measures and have him carried in on a throne?

[bahrbearian]

45. Does Nancy already know whats in Trumps speech?

because there might be something in it to make people walk out. Can she guarantee that the speech not going to make someone walk out?

[SoCalMusicLover]

48. The Democrats Will Be Good Little Subjects

After all, Congress is just one big happy family, and they would not want to make their friends across the aisle, angry.

[bahrbearian]

49. The republican's circle the wagons when the going gets tough, the Dem leadership rolls over.

[SoCalMusicLover]

51. Taking The High Road Feels Good & Right

While I'm all for acting better than the other side, it just seems to always work against us.

Perhaps it's time to fight back, and quit taking this constant Shit.

Nah....keep our powder dry for next time.

[bahrbearian]

59. I guess Trumps not scary enough yet.

They expanded the military for him, gave him all the spy tools he needs, paying for the border wall , saber rattling , Paris Accord, but still not scary yet.

[magicarpet]

79. Keep your gun powder dry.....

No need to fire a shot - until the war is over.

What a battle plan.

Excuse me.... Would you like to stop by for some tea and sugar cookies ?

[RandiFan1290]

87. Deja Poo

[maxrandb]

53. I don't know Nancy

It seems our country rewards rude and boorish behavior.

Disrupting Donnie Short Fingers might win Dems a couple more House seats.

I know... but Dems have been holding their water so long their teeth must be swimming

[50 Shades Of Blue]

54. I agree with her.

[azureblue]

64. I can see her point

But how many times does Trump have to make a fool of himself, before someone stands up and says "no more"? Pelosi thinks that eventually Trump will hang himself, but reality proves that will never happen. So I disagree with her - yes, Democrats should stand up and yell "you lie!" every time he lies. It is way past time to walk this idiot off the stage.

[FakeNoose]

68. Yes I agree on that, but we have to pick our fights

Tonight isn't the night for arguing. Just polite applause and then get up and leave.
Don't congratulate him, and for God's sake don't cheer. A Golf Clap is all they need to do.

[Honeycombe8]

77. Why? It has no downside, apparently. nt

[RussBLib]

80. Laughing is good

At the wrong, or right, moment, it can be devastating.

[harun]

92. That would have been great

[Initech]

82. Man... I was hoping for the Otter defense!

[noneof_theabove]

86. May watch....

on 2nd TV just to see if tRump starts clapping link Rocket Man [no insult to Elton John] does.

[YOHABLO]

94. I don't know Nancy, don't we need to get loud and proud? I'm beginning to question this passivity.

We need to call out the lies of this administration. It's absolutely critical. I'm frightened for my family and those who are in need.

[amcgrath]

95. No matter what happens

You can always rely on Pelosi to be leading the charge - to do nothing