Nancy Pelosi just pulled a major power move on Donald Trump's State of the Union

[AirPoh]

Can't wait for the tweets about this!

Make no mistake: Pelosi's decision to disinvite Trump from delivering his "State of the Union" address to Congress is a total power play designed to remind Trump that a) Congress is a co-equal branch of government and b) his willingness to keep the government shuttered until he gets money for a border wall is going to have impacts on him, too.
Just in case you missed that message, Pelosi delivered it again in an interview with CNN's Ashley Killough. "This is a housekeeping matter in the Congress of the United States, so we can honor the responsibility of the invitation we extended to the President," said Pelosi. "He can make it from the Oval Office if he wants."

https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/16/politics/nancy-pelosi-state-of-the-union-donald-trump/index.html

 

[dismal]

Wow, that's going to really hurt Trump.

Well, not really. I doubt he gives a shit.

 

[starwater]

See - its the democrats being mean again.

 

[Elixir]

See - its the democrats being mean again.

Gun Nut must be very proud of them.

 

[Treedbear]

Wow! Good on Pelosi! It should generate a lot of momentum in the Democratic party. It will also avoid a very ugly spectacle should Trump be given the attention he craves going wild in the People's House. Very smart I say.

 

[Koyaanisqatsi]

This is a very stupid move. It will backfire hard and only plays directly into Trumputin’s tiny, tiny hands. The lie that he’s anti-establishment (or that there actually exists an “establishment”) just got a massive shot in the arm. Look, he’s destroying the establishment just like he promised is how this will be spun.

The smarter move would have been to have him speak and then openly challenged/heckled him (parliamentary style) during the speech. Fluster the fucker on national TV when he can’t leave and none of his handlers are standing by etc.

 

[Horatio Parker]

Congress standing and applauding while he hauls his fat ass to the podium is media gold.

I bet he does give a shit.

 

[zorq]

This is a very stupid move. It will backfire hard and only plays directly into Trumputin’s tiny, tiny hands. The lie that he’s anti-establishment (or that there actually exists an “establishment”) just got a massive shot in the arm. Look, he’s destroying the establishment just like he promised is how this will be spun.

This whole post seems like a non-sequitur to me. SOTU addresses have nothing to do with "the establishment." Unless people are confusing "the establishment" for "US political traditions." The very fact that the GOP congress and senators are still backing and covering for Trump proves that if anything Trump has merely become a part of the establishment. If "the establishment" was against him then everyone would be at his throat. Surely a typical Trump dupe could see that? Or do they think "the establishment" is only the Dems? Eh, I can't tell. I'm constantly overestimating them.

The smarter move would have been to have him speak and then openly challenged/heckled him (parliamentary style) during the speech. Fluster the fucker on national TV when he can’t leave and none of his handlers are standing by etc.

Right now the Dems have a comfortable edge over Trump in the public's approval poles on the shutdown standoff. The way Pelosi tied this SOTU invitation to the shutdown gives her a plausible and defensible justification. Plus, Embarrassing Trump is a fools errand. Sure it works every time but it never lasts and his lick spittle followers are too blinded by whatever delusions they project onto him for them to notice.

But what does this delayed or possibly cancelled TV SOTU address really accomplish? Just another point on the "Trump is an aberration" scoreboard?

 

[Bronzeage]

There is no rule or law which requires the President to give a speech. He can write a letter and send it by registered mail.

At this point, Pelosi has asked the President to postpone the speech, while at the same time not extending the formal invitation, which is required. The invitation must be a joint resolution of the House and the Senate.

So basically, Trump is told there won't be a party to which he wasn't invited.

 

[Keith&Co.]

The smarter move would have been to have him speak and then openly challenged/heckled him (parliamentary style) during the speech.

Like shouting 'liar!' at Obama?

No, i think this is better. She tied it to the shutdown. Open the govt, then maybe we will let you stage a rally in our venue.

 

[Opoponax]

Trump loves to be on TV. Now he's had that taken away from him. This is a good solid humiliation of the Shitgibbon--him getting sent to his room without TV.

Could the Republicans do the same in the future to a Dem POTUS? Of course! But the only reason they're upset is because they didn't first think of doing this to Obama for 6 years straight.

I think the SOTU address should be delivered from the Oval Office anyway. Sure, it's neat spectacle that carries gravitas with it. But it can also be misleading as either side fanatically applauds the leader, which they're pretty much obligated to do.

It may be just me though. I've rarely found these things interesting, except for a few of the Dubbya ones (e.g. dangers of man-monkey hybrids moment was classic).

 

[Tinker Grey]

This is a very stupid move. It will backfire hard and only plays directly into Trumputin’s tiny, tiny hands. The lie that he’s anti-establishment (or that there actually exists an “establishment”) just got a massive shot in the arm. Look, he’s destroying the establishment just like he promised is how this will be spun.

The smarter move would have been to have him speak and then openly challenged/heckled him (parliamentary style) during the speech. Fluster the fucker on national TV when he can’t leave and none of his handlers are standing by etc.

Donamir to his friends.

 

[Koyaanisqatsi]

Trump loves to be on TV. Now he's had that taken away from him.

He can just broadcast from the White House and now he gets to play the martyr. This is just throwing Brer Rabbit into the briar patch. He won't be in a hostile environment; he will be able to fully control content and reaction (as he will no doubt be surrounded--off camera--with a sea of suckups all beaming with love and affection and postive affirmation for every stupid thing out of his mouth); etc.

AND he gets to spin this into a "see how terrified they are of my truth" kind of narrative. He--once again--broke the "establishment" rules and see how childishly they reacted. Blah blah blah.

Instead of what SHOULD have happened; an awkward arena of intense scrutiny in real time of his every word, complete with cutaways to Congressional reactions and some people not standing and some people scowling, etc. Instead of Roman coliseum of hostile condemnation scrutinizing--live--his every word, he gets a free pass AND gets to use what they did against them.

I reiterate, this was a very stupid move.

 

[Keith&Co.]

He can just broadcast from the White House and now he gets to play the martyr.

He's been playing the martyr for years, people are getting tired of the act. It's the same sound bite, over and over. And even if he gave the address from the House, he'd be tweeting lies about the mean democrats witihin the hour, anyway.

He's also been playing the bully for years, and Pelosi refuses to play.

Everyone still gets a chance to react to his statement, tweeting during or afterwards about whatever part they want. He just has to acknowledge that Congress does not work directly for him. No matter what he does.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Trump loves to be on TV. Now he's had that taken away from him.

He can just broadcast from the White House and now he gets to play the martyr. This is just throwing Brer Rabbit into the briar patch. He won't be in a hostile environment; he will be able to fully control content and reaction (as he will no doubt be surrounded--off camera--with a sea of suckups all beaming with love and affection and postive affirmation for every stupid thing out of his mouth); etc.

AND he gets to spin this into a "see how terrified they are of my truth" kind of narrative. He--once again--broke the "establishment" rules and see how childishly they reacted. Blah blah blah.

Instead of what SHOULD have happened; an awkward arena of intense scrutiny in real time of his every word, complete with cutaways to Congressional reactions and some people not standing and some people scowling, etc. Instead of Roman coliseum of hostile condemnation scrutinizing--live--his every word, he gets a free pass AND gets to use what they did against them.

I reiterate, this was a very stupid move.

Is it? It seems to be one that completely caught the White House by surprise and they aren't exactly certain how to follow it up. For a White House with an answer to everything, the silence is really interesting.

Seems like a relatively low risk gamble. Americans most likely care little about the State of the Union Address, and certainly a lot less about it than Trump and the GOP might care about the hit it takes to them internally.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Why doesn't he just give the SOTU in the Russian Parliament instead? It's always a big career boost to be able to give a presentation at your boss's house.

 

[poster]

It would be great if all the corporate news organizations that carry the SOTU show had their own collective shut down for the duration of it in order to give Trump a taste of his own medicine. Not that any of them actually care about the people that have been affected. In fact the corporate news probably prefers the drama of more suffering.

 

[RVonse]

This is a very stupid move. It will backfire hard and only plays directly into Trumputin’s tiny, tiny hands. The lie that he’s anti-establishment (or that there actually exists an “establishment”) just got a massive shot in the arm. Look, he’s destroying the establishment just like he promised is how this will be spun.

The smarter move would have been to have him speak and then openly challenged/heckled him (parliamentary style) during the speech. Fluster the fucker on national TV when he can’t leave and none of his handlers are standing by etc.

+1 Agree.

If Trump decides to go on his own State of Union without congress and rent out a football stadium for his address, he will have no one there but pro-Trump people but still have national coverage of the event. Big backfire for the democrats.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

This is a very stupid move. It will backfire hard and only plays directly into Trumputin’s tiny, tiny hands. The lie that he’s anti-establishment (or that there actually exists an “establishment”) just got a massive shot in the arm. Look, he’s destroying the establishment just like he promised is how this will be spun.

The smarter move would have been to have him speak and then openly challenged/heckled him (parliamentary style) during the speech. Fluster the fucker on national TV when he can’t leave and none of his handlers are standing by etc.

+1 Agree.

If Trump decides to go on his own State of Union without congress and rent out a football stadium for his address, he will have no one there but pro-Trump people but still have national coverage of the event. Big backfire for the democrats.

Good luck in the amount of time available. I'm not certain where the money would come from to even pay for such an event.

 

[Treedbear]

... Instead of Roman coliseum of hostile condemnation scrutinizing--live--his every word, he gets a free pass AND gets to use what they did against them.

I reiterate, this was a very stupid move.

I was thinking more along the lines of the Reichstag in 1939. His political philosophy is vaguely similar to the man who said these things:

His quotations regarding leadership and politics show he considered truth an obstacle and compassion a great weakness. He believed that the strong had the right to govern the weak and that, to fight it, other nations would have to adopt the very methods they were fighting against:

• “How fortunate for governments that the people they administer don't think.”
• “It is not truth that matters, but victory.”
• “The great strength of the totalitarian state is that it forces those who fear it to imitate it.”
• “The victor will never be asked if he told the truth. ”
• "Universal education is the most corroding and disintegrating poison that liberalism has ever invented for its own destruction."
• "Our streets will be safer, our police more efficient, and the world will follow our lead into the future."
• "Humanitarianism is the expression of stupidity and cowardice."