Publisher's Note: One of the most significant things you can do to promote Liberty is to support our mission. Please make your gift to the 2024 Year-End Campaign today. Thank you! —Mark Alexander, Publisher

February 9, 2023

‘Decorum!’ They Shrieked

Democrat complaints about Republican rudeness during Joe Biden’s SOTU fib-fest are nothing more than history-onics.

Joe Biden did a lot of lying on Tuesday night. No two ways around it. When the lies became intolerable, Republicans did some objecting. And now the Democrats and their mainstream media sycophants are aghast at the lack of … decorum.

Please.

This isn’t to say that Republicans weren’t guilty of some rudeness. They were. Indeed, they taunted Biden with shouts of “liar” when, for example, he accused them of planning to do away with Social Security, and when he lamented the rising number of Americans dying from fentanyl overdoses.

“Other Republicans,” as The Washington Times reports, “called out ‘Border!’ They were referring to what they say are the administration’s lax border security policies that allow smugglers to bring the deadly drug into the U.S.”

PJ Media’s Mark Margolis offers a representative sample of the Left’s outrage:

Salon accused Republicans of taking “orders from Trump” to throw a “hissy fit” during Biden’s speech. The Washington Post described the “raucous display” of Republicans as a “core weakness” of the party. John Harris of Politico seemed to think that what happened Tuesday night had never happened before, and accused Republicans of “putting the spotlight on themselves — through extraordinary rudeness. With boos, taunts, groans, and sarcastic chortles, the opposition party effectively turned themselves into prime-time props for President Joseph Biden.” CNN’s Jake Tapper said that Republicans made themselves look bad and “really allowed [Biden] opportunity to look vigorous.”

“The behavior of a sizeable group of Republican legislators tonight was outrageous and disgusting,” wailed the once-relevant Larry Sabato. “Their screaming and catcalling at the President was obscene. Free speech? Sure. Decorum and courtesy? DEAD. This was unthinkable when I started watching the State of the Union in the ‘60s.”

“Without a doubt,” said former “Republican” Congressman Adam Kinzinger, “Biden absolutely crushed the GOP 'dumb yellers’ masterfully. Every President will try to recreate and fail. But I mourn the loss of decorum by GOP.”

Oh, the decorum. And this from the stooge who sat on Nancy Pelosi’s rigged J6 select committee after she had taken the unprecedented and unconstitutional step of denying Kinzinger’s colleagues, Jim Jordan and Jim Banks, their rightful spot on the committee.

Biden “got exactly what he deserved, and I am not sorry one bit,” said Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. “What am I going to do? Stand up and give golf claps? No, thank you. I don’t clap for liars.”

Decorum, though, doesn’t just die during a feckless president’s State of the Union Address. It suffers a thousand cuts all along the way.

Yes, yes, South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson yelled “You lie!” at President Barack Obama back in 2009 when Obama, well, lied about whether his ridiculously named Affordable Care Act would cover illegal immigrants. But that wasn’t even during the State of the Union; it was in September, during a joint session of Congress.

But it was during his State of the Union Address the following year, in 2010, when Obama broke all precedent and scolded the Supreme Court for its Citizens United decision against Democrat censorship and in favor of free speech. Obama all but wagged his finger in the justices’ faces and warned that their awful decision would “open the floodgates” to special interests and foreign money, which prompted a shocked Justice Samuel Alito to mouth the words “not true” in response.

We seem to remember, much more recently, a choreographed action taken by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the conclusion of President Donald Trump’s 2020 SOTU Address. Why, yes, here it is in all its decorum:

How strange that the mainstream media didn’t seem troubled by this. Here, for example, is a 1,700-word NBC News article about Pelosi’s egregious and unprecedented outburst. One thousand seven hundred words in the article, and not one of those words is “decorum.”

The article does mention “conservative blowback,” though. And Trump’s “highly partisan” speech. And the “inflammatory” Rush Limbaugh. And it quotes Pelosi extensively as she refers to Trump’s speech as a “manifesto of mistruths,” “a disgrace,” “a reality show,” “a pack of lies,” and how she tore up the speech “because it was the courteous thing to do, considering the alternative.” And how, at a Democrat caucus meeting the following day, Pelosi’s fellow Democrats gave her a standing ovation.

“I didn’t go in there to tear up the speech,” Pelosi lied, as evidenced by the little pre-tearing ritual she engaged in during Trump’s speech.

As we wrote in our recent “good riddance” send-off: “Nancy Pelosi will be remembered for the most childish, most petty, most despicable breach of decorum in the modern history of American politics, which she achieved when on the night of February 4, 2020, she conspicuously and flamboyantly tore up President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech while the nation looked on — in violation of 18 U.S. Code § 2071. It was a pathetic display, one befitting a petulant teenager, and it marked the bottoming-out of American politics.”

Considering the visibility of her position as House speaker, and the dignity that the office naturally confers on — and expects of — its holder, Pelosi’s act was, without question, the worst ever breach of decency in the history of SOTU addresses. It takes the cake. And the Democrats own it.

But, but, “Decorum!” they shrieked.

Who We Are

The Patriot Post is a highly acclaimed weekday digest of news analysis, policy and opinion written from the heartland — as opposed to the MSM’s ubiquitous Beltway echo chambers — for grassroots leaders nationwide. More

What We Offer

On the Web

We provide solid conservative perspective on the most important issues, including analysis, opinion columns, headline summaries, memes, cartoons and much more.

Via Email

Choose our full-length Digest or our quick-reading Snapshot for a summary of important news. We also offer Cartoons & Memes on Monday and Alexander’s column on Wednesday.

Our Mission

The Patriot Post is steadfast in our mission to extend the endowment of Liberty to the next generation by advocating for individual rights and responsibilities, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and promoting free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. We are a rock-solid conservative touchstone for the expanding ranks of grassroots Americans Patriots from all walks of life. Our mission and operation budgets are not financed by any political or special interest groups, and to protect our editorial integrity, we accept no advertising. We are sustained solely by you. Please support The Patriot Fund today!


The Patriot Post and Patriot Foundation Trust, in keeping with our Military Mission of Service to our uniformed service members and veterans, are proud to support and promote the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, both the Honoring the Sacrifice and Warrior Freedom Service Dogs aiding wounded veterans, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, the Folds of Honor outreach, and Officer Christian Fellowship, the Air University Foundation, and Naval War College Foundation, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

★ PUBLIUS ★

“Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!” —George Washington

Please join us in prayer for our nation — that righteous leaders would rise and prevail and we would be united as Americans. Pray also for the protection of our Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Please lift up your Patriot team and our mission to support and defend our Republic's Founding Principle of Liberty, that the fires of freedom would be ignited in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

The Patriot Post is protected speech, as enumerated in the First Amendment and enforced by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, in accordance with the endowed and unalienable Rights of All Mankind.

Copyright © 2024 The Patriot Post. All Rights Reserved.

The Patriot Post does not support Internet Explorer. We recommend installing the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome.