I’m finally getting to Trump’s State of the Union (SOTU) speech, but I find I don’t care. It was what I expected, but less. What did surprise me was the strength and intensity of the Democratic response.
“Wait, what?” you ask. “The SOTU response? That dead fish?!?” I know! But, hand to god, it was the best part of the evening.
Ahead of time, the White House swore that Trump would make a unifying SOTU speech: he’d be bipartisan, he’d appeal to all Americans, and he’d speak in an indoor voice for at least half the time.
Don’t pretend you expected more than sniffs, smirks and red-meat nonsense. We got the usual terrifying view down into Trump’s delusions as he walked through each invented or misrepresented event. Sure, sure, immigrants are all MS-13 murders, he hates anyone who doesn’t stand for the anthem (if they’re brown), and he has an unnatural love of clean, clean coal, a substance that doesn’t really exist. Nothing on all the recent mass shootings, criminal investigations, or anything about the Russian interference ramping up into the 2018 elections.
Kennedy’s response was several miles more important than whatever nonsense Stephen Miller wrote for Trump. Which isn’t a high bar; I don’t have to tell you that. Trump claimed credit for everything from the Obama boom to the new moon. And delusions?
To everyone still recovering in Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, California, and everywhere else — we are with you, we love you, and we will pull through together.
— President Donald Trump, 2018 State of the Union (Vox transcript)
My guess? Puerto Ricans aren’t holding their breath.
But didn’t Trump say meaningful stuff? Oh hell no. Sure, Trump made promises about immigration and lots of other issues, and you know he’ll disown it all within 48 hours. He doesn’t care about any of that stuff. Oh, no. Instead, we got to watch Trump satisfy himself for more than an hour at our expense, all to steady, rhythmic, forced applause by a half-circle of Republican loyalists. Zip up when you’re done.
But the Democratic response by Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III? It wasn’t perfect, but it was different. (You can read the Times transcript, but watch the video if you can.)
For them, dignity isn’t something you’re born with but something you measure, by your net worth, your celebrity, your headlines, your crowd size, not to mention the gender of your spouse, the country of your birth, the color of your skin, the God of your prayers.
— Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III, Vox Transcript, Jan. 30, 2018
I know it’s hard to do the SOTU equal-time thing. Most years, the response is a slapdash, oddly gristly event. They find a corridor not currently being mopped, set up a camera and a few flags, and let some unsuspecting politico butcher themselves on air. Think ‘Marco Rubio hydration.’
We are bombarded with one false choice after another: coal miners or single moms, rural communities or inner cities, the coast or the heartland. As if the mechanic in Pittsburgh, a teacher in Tulsa, and a daycare worker in Birmingham are bitter rivals….
So here is the answer that Democrats offer tonight: We choose both.
— Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III, Times Transcript, Jan. 30, 2018
Kennedy’s speech wasn’t perfect, but it was muscular, heartfelt, and direct. That’s something the Democratic party hasn’t managed very often. Joe had a real audience, and he spoke to them. They cared, too. He talked values and goals, and cut through a lot of the Republican fluff.
We see an economy that makes stocks floor, investor portfolios bulge and corporate profits climb, but fails to give workers their fair share of the reward. A government that struggles to keep itself open. Russia knee-deep in our democracy. An all-out war on environmental protection, a justice department rolling back civil rights by the day. Hatred and supremacy proudly marching in our streets. Bullets tearing through our classrooms. Concerts, and congregations. Targeting our safest sacred places.
And this nagging, sinking feeling, no matter your political beliefs, this is not right. This is not who we are.
— Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III, Vox Transcript, Jan. 30, 2018
Kennedy also talked about how America this way:
That — that is our story. It began the day our founding fathers and mothers set sail for a new world, fleeing oppression and intolerance.
So he booted that one. Kinda whitebread. Still, overall, I give it ‘cornbread’ on the Sid and Nancy scale.
