Anything goes…
When President Barack Obama addressed Congress about healthcare in September 2009, Republican Rep. Joe Wilson interrupted his speech by yelling “You lie!” That breach of decorum seemed startling at the time. Now, in 2023, we are surprised if the Trumpified GOP shows no rudeness to a Democratic President of the United States during such a speech.
Wilson promptly apologized in a press release and a phone call before facing an official rebuke from the House, with seven Republicans signing on. We know not to expect such things today. At President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address Tuesday evening, Marjorie Taylor Greene and others screamed “Liar!” That was after parading around earlier with “just an innocent white balloon everybody,” a lame stunt to promote the garbage narrative that Biden somehow dropped the ball with the Chinese spy balloon.
Andy Ogles cried “It’s your fault!” while others couldn’t help themselves from uttering “Bullshit!” Then there was newcomer and fraudster George Santos, who showed his disrespect in a more passive-aggressive way. As Mitt Romney told NBC news, “sick puppy” Santos, whom Kevin McCarthy admitted is under a House ethics investigation, “should be sitting in the back row and being quiet instead of parading in front of the President.” Walking by Santos on the way to his seat, Romney scolded: “You don’t belong here,” according to CNN.
As Cole Porter wrote, “In olden days a glimpse of stocking / Was looked on as something shocking / But now God knows / Anything goes.” This famous lyric sadly applies to today’s Republican Party, which continues to outdo itself when it comes to disrespecting our institutions and making a mockery of our democracy. As Biden’s State of the Union address reminded us, the GOP’s downward trajectory is showing no signs of reversal.
Ron Leshnower is a lawyer and the author of several books, including President Trump’s Month