SILENT: Republicans lambasted for repudiating Biden’s call to buy American at SOTU speech
Now we know who the real patriots are, and it ain’t the Republicans.
Proof came in the form of the reaction of the assembled members of the GOP to President Biden’s State of the Union address last night, in particular, the section where the president was speaking about bringing manufacturing jobs back to the United States after decades of corporate offshoring.
Democrats immediately broke out into a spontaneous chant of “USA, USA, USA!”
Republicans, on the other hand, stayed silent and squirmed uncomfortably in their seats as they saw one of their primary talking points under the Trump regime comfortably co-opted by their political opposition.
The disparity of the responses did not go unnoted by social media wags, who piled on the GOP for their seemingly unpatriotic reaction to the populist notion of American manufacturing self-sufficiency, a reversion to their establishment Republican corporatist roots.
Democrats led a chorus of “USA USA USA” while GOP sat silently during #SOTU For too long, Democrats have surrendered the notion of “proud to be an American” to the Republican Party, @POTUS Biden took it back Tuesday night.
I write for @usatodayopinion https://t.co/C3GOTPuB3O
— Kurt Bardella (@kurtbardella) March 2, 2022
When President Biden hit a high note about bringing manufacturing jobs back to America, and bringing back "Buy in America" requirements for public spending, all of the Democrats stood and chanted USA, USA, USA.
NOT A SINGLE REPUBLICAN JOINED THEM.
Not one.#SOTU
— Grant Stern is boosted! (@grantstern) March 2, 2022
https://twitter.com/judygreeno/status/1498849678892224523?s=20
Democrats chant “USA, USA..”
We’re the patriots. We’ve always been the real patriots.
— Joanie Vee (@JoanieVee1) March 2, 2022
gods- the dems chanting 'USA-USA-USA-USA' while the GOP glowers & pouts is beautiful…
— Alacrity's Whatever (@AlacritysWhatev) March 2, 2022
Did not think i would ever see the Republican side of the chamber sit silent in the midst of a USA USA USA chant…
— Ron Elving (@NPRrelving) March 2, 2022
Remarkable. The crowd chants "USA USA USA" as President Biden talks about building plants in America and building American wealth, and GOP just sit there staring at him.
— Ehren (@CampArlington) March 2, 2022
If only such conspicuous silence was the only response proffered by right-wing Republican extremists.
In the most condemned outburst during Biden’s State of the Union address, GOP Congresswoman Lauren Boebert (R-CO) had the audacity to heckle the president mid-sentence as he spoke about the dangerous effects of military burn pits on the health of American armed forces.
“13 of them,” Rep. Boebert shouted even as Biden was transitioning to speak about the death of son Beau from brain cancer, possibly from exposure to just such environmentally hazardous practices.
For those not immediately conversant in QAnon-level conspiracy theories sprouting in right-wing extremist circles, the “13” was an apparent reference to the 13 military personnel who perished during the American evacuation from Afghanistan last year.
Her disrespectful interjection was booed by even some Republicans when it happened and was the subject of a scathing op-ed from U.S. Army veteran Eileen Rivers USA Today this morning.
“There is also something wrong with reducing what should be thoughtful political discourse – done at the right time with real information – to a shameful and antagonizing heckle,” Rivers declared. “The congresswoman’s comments about a 20-year war perpetuated by leaders in both parties were misleading and lacked context. She not only lowered discourse, she disrespected the office of the presidency. I am a veteran. I spent four years of my life in the Army as an Arabic linguist. I come from a family of veterans. And I am angry,” she continues.
“When she stifled the president, she was also stifling me. Surely others who have lost loved ones felt that, too.”
“Boebert does not speak for me,” Rivers concludes. “And neither do other members of the GOP who reinforced her sentiments on social media.”
The reaction on social media was equally disgusted with the classless Colorado Congresswoman.
Lauren Boebert just yelled out an attack on Biden while he was talking about his dead son.
Thankfully, she received bipartisan boos.
Absolute subhuman filth.
— Angry Staffer (@Angry_Staffer) March 2, 2022
Boebert and Greene think they’re still in high school, when it’s cool to sit in the back and heckle the teacher and never do any homework and be stupid. The back of the room kids are in Congress. That’s how far we’ve sunk.
— Tristan Snell (@TristanSnell) March 2, 2022
https://twitter.com/ImSpeaking13/status/1499043585668399112?s=20
I didn't want to give Lauren Boebert any attention, but it has to be said that was a classless moment when she heckled while Joe was talking about his dead son.
Truly disgusting.
— BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@mmpadellan) March 2, 2022
When I saw all the MTG/ Boebert mentions this morning it took me a moment to realize it was Trash Wednesday.
— NoelCaslerComedy (@caslernoel) March 2, 2022
All in all, the pressure to remove people like Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene from Congress immediately just got raised, but the reaction of the rest of the Republican Party to Biden’s State of the Union only increases the urgency of defeating them at every possible ballot box in the upcoming mid-term elections.
It is only then that President Biden and the Democratic Party can begin to fulfill their long list of positive legislative changes that can help build America back better.
Follow Vinnie Longobardo on Twitter.
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