Anyone watching President Trump address Congress Tuesday night had to be shocked by the way some Democrats conducted themselves. “High school with paychecks” is how I’d describe it. Presidential addresses are beginning to resemble more the studio audience of “Let’s Make a Deal” than anything close to a dignified event.
Throughout the evening, one thing became abundantly clear: Democrats have learned absolutely nothing from their decisive election loss.
Republicans are not guilt-free in the heckling department. Former Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) was a pioneer in this regard when, in 2009, he yelled “You lie!” while President Obama talked about his health care plan.
That almost seems quaint now. Last night, 77-year-old Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) virtually personified today’s Democratic Party when he waved his cane, screaming like a crazy man, and had to be tossed out the House Chamber.
Many more Democrats couldn’t be bothered to show up. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) announced that she would being doing an Instagram live about the speech from home. Many of those Democrats who did show waived paddles with protest words on them, reminiscent of the “up twinkles” from the Occupy Wall Street era.
Of those who did show, the women wore pink. Why? To show solidarity with — well, each other, I guess. If Democratic women wanted to show any love for women, they could have voted in favor of protecting girls in their sports leagues and in the intimacy of their locker rooms from intrusions by boys and men. They could have protected women’s scholarships and physical wellbeing as well. Not one single female Democrat did so. But by all means, do dress up.
As for the speech, it was exactly what you would expect, provided you got your news from places not named MSNBC or the New York Times.
Trump bragged about the border being more secure than it has been in decades, with ICE encounters hitting low numbers not seen this century — 8,326 in February compared to 140,641 in February of last year. It was met with the cheers you’d expect from people who want a secure border, Republicans, and silence or jeers from those Democrats, who, when they had a choice, deliberately inflicted upon the nation the chaos of open borders.
Trump hyped the economy and his efforts to cut waste. His talk of peace in Ukraine was met with groans and grumbles. All the things you’ve come to expect from the left — Trump might as well have written their script.
It is clear that Democrats learned nothing from the election and its aftermath. They genuinely believe they have a messaging problem, not an issues problem.
To listen to anything the left conjures up — whether it be a presser by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) or a Rachel Maddow monologue — you come away with the idea that Democrats truly believe their positions on issues are popular with the American public. They are willing to die on even the most absurd hill, as their 45 to zero Senate vote against female athletes confirmed this week.
In the face of all the evidence to the contrary, Democrats believe they simply haven’t figured out the right code to use when talking about the issues. If only those rubes had known how good they had it under Joe Biden! If only they weren’t too stupid to figure out on their own that they secretly agree with Democrats!
Maybe if we just astroturf their town halls, like in 2017? Maybe if we all wear pink? Maybe if we don’t attend?
Yet their real problem is that there is no lie they can tell that makes child genital mutilation, or men in the women’s room, or unfettered and unvetted immigration seem all right. Every single poll shows Trump more trusted on the issues most important to the American people, yet they are committed to will over reality, obstinance over rationality.
If your whole world is the green room at CNN, then yes, radical progressive politics will seem popular. If you only listen to Joy Reid, Jim Acosta, Don Lemon and any of the other cable news cast-offs who simply could not attract an audience in spite of the “popularity,” you would be “shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on” in this casino.
The joke definition of insanity is to do the same thing, over and over again, expecting different results. What do you call the political commitment to losing with the same idiotic ideas again and again, no matter how unpopular they are? Progressivism.
The big takeaway from Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress is that Democrats have learned nothing.
Derek Hunter is host of the Derek Hunter Podcast and a former staffer for the late Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.).
