Speaker Johnson to House GOP: Be Polite at SOTU

What we're hearing: Johnson, at a closed-door GOP conference meeting Wednesday, called for "decorum" towards President Biden, according to a half-dozen lawmakers who were present.

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  • Johnson told members, "we should be professional, we should maintain a high standard of decorum," said Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.).
  • "He's reminding us to be respectful of the institution ... and to the president of the United States and the office, whether we agree or not," said Rep. Mark Alford (R-Mo.).

Ed Morrissey

I can't stand the SOTU event no matter who's president. Its imperial trappings are an affront to the separation of power and the concept of co-equal branches, and the Kabuki theater of constant standing ovations for the most mundane of political declarations is nauseating. Johnson's correct that members should respect the institutions rather than engage in performative responses, but we'd all be better off if Congress set a new precedent in requesting the SOTU in written form. 

(Guess who's probably stuck with live-blogging it tomorrow? *sigh*)

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