Rep. Al Green set the bar for Democrats. Most of them failed to meet it.

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/al-green-donald-trump-congress-speech-rcna195025

31 comments

  1. **From Charles F. Coleman Jr., civil rights attorney and a former Brooklyn, New York, prosecutor:**

    Trump’s address to Congress was a big opportunity for Democrats to demonstrate that they understand the assignment; however, most of the Democrats and their leadership seemed largely unaligned and uncoordinated about how bold an opposition statement they actually wanted to make.

    Strategically, Democrats could have capitalized on Green’s outburst sand removal by having member after member stand in his place, one after the other, to disrupt and potentially derail the president’s speech. The continued and repeated show of protest would have prevented Trump from finding his rhythm, most likely gotten him off script and shifted the focus away from the MAGA victory lap Trump had planned.

    It would have been completely out of order and gone against the civility expected of members of Congress in such a setting, but that is precisely the point. If Democrats are seeking to engage and to inspire the imagination of their base, then they need to be able to make voters believe that they are willing to break a few parliamentarian rules of decorum and send the message that they won’t take the actions of this administration sitting down quietly.

    Read more: [https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/al-green-donald-trump-congress-speech-rcna195025](https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/al-green-donald-trump-congress-speech-rcna195025)

  2. They cowered in fear instead of standing up for what is right. Al Green was the only Democrat that had the guts to confront Trump.

  3. Honestly, people should just donate to Green. If he raises a few million on this, other Dems will follow

  4. And now they censured him, including some spineless democrats.

    Don’t be surprised if we start seeing progressively harsher measures be taken against politicians who speak out.

  5. Dude held his cane high and shouted, they hid behind paddles.

  6. Every Dem should have disrupted Trump’s speech one at a time, waiting for the last one to be dragged out and the President thinks he’s good to resume

    If they really believe the campaign rhetoric of creeping fascism, then disrupting fascist speech is good.

  9. The fact that 10 “democrats” voted against him is fucked.

    Funny how so many dems will vote with the GOP but you rarely ever see it happen the other way around.

  10. “Rep. Al Green set the bar for Democrats. Most of them failed to meet it.”

    Aside from Green, who else besides AOC, Bernie Sanders and Jasmine Crockett have even tried to set a bar? The ones holding up ping pong paddles? Their t-shirts with slogans on it? Wearing matching outfits? The moment Green was escorted out, they should have all followed suit.

    Democrats think they are in a fight with normal people who understand reason; but holy fucking christ, they are dealing with people who only care for themselves and no one else and they don’t care who gets stepped on as they garner power and wealth for themselves.

  11. Cowards, enablers, sycophants, appeasers, fellow traitors to their oaths as elected officials and downright yellow-bellied weasels as so-called leaders

  14. Entire room of democrats should have joined him.

    Kick that limp dicked Jeffries and Schumer out.

  15. This may be a silly question, but am I able to call or email him to express my support even if he’s not my representative?

  16. And then 10 of them held the gun while republicans pulled the trigger!

  17. Yet Marjorie Trailerpark Greene was never censured fir exactly the same behavior. My, oh my.

  18. My apologies if someone already posted this. These are the Democrats who voted for Rep. Al Green’s censure:

    Ami Bera (California)
    Ed Case (Hawaii)
    Jim Costa (California)
    Laura Gillen (New York)
    Jim Himes (Connecticut)
    Chrissy Houlahan (Pennsylvania)
    Marcy Kaptur (Ohio)
    Jared Moskowitz (Florida)
    Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Washington)
    Tom Suozzi (New York)

  19. There’s a great scene from a 30-year-old *Simpsons* episode, depicting the Democratic National Convention and Republican National Convention, that perfectly summarizes the Republican and Democratic parties.

    RNC banners: “We want what’s worst for everyone” and “we’re just plain evil.”

    DNC banners: “We hate life and ourselves” and “We can’t govern!”

    https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/s/QTOqxj5D3M

  20. We’re just going to see the Dems move more right of center (more than they already are) to appeal to the rights base in some way. It’s the sad reality we live in, there’s no hope for progressives with all the money in politics.

    We need a new young leader with teeth, the whole high road shit dems play has to stop. FIGHT FIRE WITH FUCKING FIRE.

    – Middle aged midwest man

  21. Now ten Vichy Democrats are participating in his censure driven by house GOP. Shame on them.

  23. Fr Democrats, one of your members just got kick out. Then all you do is sit there and hold up signs. Grow some balls

  26. This should have been the entire Democratic Party, the leadership (both parties) is failing the American people. I hope I live to see the karma.

  27. yeah but that was an excellent picture of the democratic party, they don’t even support each other. thats why its falling apart now

  28. Democrats are trying to appear as if they are a reasonable middle. But without principles it’s just the middle of nowhere.

    Al Green is actually principled and both the impeachment motion and SOTU protest are reasonable and principled reactions to the state of the union. Al Green is in the center!

  30. More people seem to be upset that the Dems won’t partake in purely performative actions (that do nothing at best and actively hurt them at worst) than than they are the republicans actively dismantling our country. I swear most of the posts on this sub and others are bashing the Dems.

    Americans voted Republicans into full control. The only hopes we have left unfortunately is the courts or accelerationism.

  31. I’m sure this will get downvoted to oblivion but so be it.

    I hate Trump and the GOP with a fiery passion but I fail to see what this stunt accomplished. Democrats have had the high ground on State of the Union decorum, but no longer. Eventually the Trump administration will end and we’ll (hopefully) yo-yo back to a Democratic president, and when they give the State of the Union, it will now be a free-for-all of interruptions and shenanigans which has been greenlit by Al Green. I’m well aware that some in the GOP were already acting foolishly (even before MTG and Boebert you can go back to Joe Wilson shouting “You lie!’ during Obama’s SotU in 2009), but we didn’t have to join in. The stupid little black signs were dumb too. It just feels like the SotU is rapidly sliding into something from Idiocracy.

    I know people will say “well at least he did *something*, Democrats aren’t doing anything!” but to those people I say, what the fuck do you expect Democrats to do? They don’t control either chamber of Congress, The Supreme Court, or the Presidency. And that’s because ***they lost.*** The time to *do something* was November 2024 and the American people decided that they want the clown show and the chaos. They want Brawndo (it has electrolytes!). I wish they didn’t, but here we are. I wish we didn’t have to share the responsibility of creating a safe and stable society with uneducated and easily duped morons, but we do.

    Shit like this does not help.

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