Pelosi asks Trump to delay State of the Union speech, or “deliver it in writing”

Introversion

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House speaker says event would place an undue burden on the departments responsible for security, as a result of the shutdown

The Guardian said:
The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, has requested Donald Trump delay, or deliver in writing, a State of the Union address scheduled for 29 January unless the government reopens this week.

In a letter to the president, Pelosi said the annual remarks would place an undue burden on the departments responsible for security at the event, as a result of the record shutdown that began on 22 December over Trump’s demand for a border wall.

“Sadly, given the security concerns and unless government reopens this week, I suggest that we work together to determine another suitable date after government has reopened for this address or for you to consider delivering your State of the Union address in writing to Congress on January 29,” Pelosi wrote in the letter.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The address to a joint session of Congress gathers leaders from all three branches of government in the House chamber. With so many officials in one room, the event takes weeks to coordinate and involves law enforcement agencies at the local, state and federal level.

...

IMO, that’s some world-class political judo right there.

Not that Fat Hitler will pay attention. But it’s incumbent on Democrats to point out, as often and loudly as possible, the very real problems caused by this shutdown.
 

Introversion

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Actually, it appears that the House may have the power to prevent holding the State of the Union address, over safety concerns? As I understand it, both the House and Senate must issue a resolution to invite the President to give the address?

This could also backfire in the court of public opinion. I also suspect 45 would just give the address on Fox & Friends.

A sharp move on Pelosi’s part though.
 

Marissa D

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A win-win, really--if he insists on giving it, it's another example of his clueless boorishness...and gives everyone another one of his rambling word-salads that can be pointed to as a demonstration of his unfitness to hold office.
 

BenPanced

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The show will go on. After all, he can't let us forget all the fucking winning this country's doing at the moment, and who better than the betterer, the bestest president the US of A has ever seen? It's a chance for him to stand up in front of a camera and bleat on about the greatness of his wonder and the wonder of his greatness; you can't expect an ego like that to be properly contained. Especially since Pelosi made the suggestion. So he has to deliver the speech just to be a jackhole.
 

Ari Meermans

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Not that adherence to the Constitution has ever bothered him overmuch, but he can't deliver the SOTU address to Congress in person without an invitation. The SOTU fulfills the constitutional requirement (Article II, Section 3, Clause 1.) that the president "shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." (There's nothing there to say how this information is to be delivered.)

Pelosi is never anything if not strategic in her thinking and actions. She has the shutdown and the burden it places on the DHS and Secret Service as the basis for this, yes, but she's also reminding him that the three branches of government are co-equal.
 
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Snitchcat

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This will be interesting to watch -- just to see how it plays out.
 

Ari Meermans

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They could, and most if not all of the Republicans in the House might just attend. It'd be interesting to see how constitutional law experts interpret that without the joint invitation.

ETA: The SOTU is held in the chamber of the U.S. House because it's large enough to accommodate all three branches of government plus invited guests. I don't think the Senate chamber is large enough to accommodate that many people but I don't remember. Does anyone know?
 
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Brightdreamer

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You know how preliterate kids will scribble loops and zigzags on a piece of paper, hand it to Mom, and tell her they'd written a thing? And Mom would smile and pin it on the fridge?

I wonder if Congress has a fridge...
 

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McConnell is being his classic hypocritical self accusing Pelosi of just wanting to make Trump look bad.

The Democrats, especially Pelosi, need to stop talking about Trump and start talking about the GOP controlled Senate having the power to override a veto and pointing out the votes might be there but McConnell won't let a budget bill come to the floor.

Contact your Senators and remind them they could override the shutdown.

Write letters to editors asking why they aren't reporting that fact.
 
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Larry M

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McConnell is being his classic hypocritical self accusing Pelosi of just wanting to make Trump look bad.

The Democrats, especially Pelosi, need to stop talking about Trump and start talking about the GOP controlled Senate having the power to override a veto and pointing out the votes might be there but McConnell won't let a budget bill come to the floor.

Contact your Senators and remind them they could override the shutdown.

Write letters to editors asking why they aren't reporting that fact.

Excellent points.
 

Jolly-Boo

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The idea if someone like Pelosi advising Trump not to do something is hilarious. I imagine him just fuming.
 

Ari Meermans

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*45's childish response was to send Nancy Pelosi a letter cancelling her trip to Brussels, Egypt, and Afghanistan (calling it a seven-day excursion) unless she wants to fly commercial. There's some speculation that her trip either hasn't been scheduled yet or that she had already cancelled it herself. But no word from Team Pelosi yet.

Also, questions being asked whether this also applies to his cabinet's planned trip to Davos.

This is going to get even more interesting as it's apparent he still thinks he's the boss.
 
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MaeZe

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I like this comment from the story:
Maybe @realDonaldTrump meant to say all of the 800,000 federal workers who aren’t getting paid WILL be voting for Democrats next election. We don’t make workers pawn their belongings to buy food.#WheresMitch #TrumpShutdown
 

Brightdreamer

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McConnell is being his classic hypocritical self accusing Pelosi of just wanting to make Trump look bad.

The Democrats, especially Pelosi, need to stop talking about Trump and start talking about the GOP controlled Senate having the power to override a veto and pointing out the votes might be there but McConnell won't let a budget bill come to the floor.

Contact your Senators and remind them they could override the shutdown.

Write letters to editors asking why they aren't reporting that fact.

I've seen pushes in that direction online, particularly on Twitter, calling it the "Mitch Shutdown." Not sure how to get it into the larger media body...
 

Spicyqueso

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Apparently he has now threatened to deny Pelosi an airplane for a foreign trip... Can he get any more childish? And all the people who are suffering because of this shut down.
 

Jason

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All this banter between Pelosi and Trump and Schumer and Trump, and Pelosi and Shumer and Trump is just political grandstanding - neither side is really innocent in all this, and imho all the current politicians are in it for themselves. Why do you think so much is spent on campaigns to get into office? It's not to "help the constituents" or even to advance any particular agenda (though some do want in because there is inherent power that they yearn for - those are the really scary ones).

No, most are in it so they can get the government salaries and healthcare - it's a fairly well-to-do lifestyle, and while they are not uber rich, they're all certainly in the upper echelon. And even though they have to pay for their healthcare - it's a kick-ass bunch of plans they choose from! Plus, they pay a pittance for it. Theirs is subsidized to the tune of 72%!

That means the most they pay is 28% - not exactly on par with what anyone outside of federal service pays. Even with the shutdown, this is why so many federal workers aren't in too much of a hurry to leave - it's a cushy gig! And for the elected officials - they don't care one whit about the shutdown...they still get paid!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...res-why/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.539c8eee5dc9

So, the rich get richer - no matter which party they belong to. This is all grandstanding to appeal to their respective bases, and no matter who you voted for or who you hate - they don't care about any of us anymore. All they want is money. And excellent but cheap healthcare. And power.

https://blog.popvox.com/2017/05/08/what-health-and-retirement-benefits-do-members-of-congress-get/
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/members-congress-health-care/
https://smartasset.com/retirement/congress-retirement-plans
https://www.factcheck.org/2009/08/health-care-for-members-of-congress/

Let's also not forget that Trump and the Repubs aren't alone in their shutdowns of govt - it's not as ideologically based as you'd think. Wanna know how many shutdowns of government we've had? About every president since Carter! That kind of paints a somber picture, doncha think?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_shutdowns_in_the_United_States

Nope - they don't care about me or you or anyone but those who threaten their tenure in office... because the longer they're in, the more they bank both in salary and benefits long term. And after they leave office, they still get the access - kinda like COBRA - it costs a bit more, but still at reduced rate. No worries though, they make that up on the book tour and speaking circuits.

Sorry, I told myself I was gonna stay out of the political discussions, but this has been grating at me since it started, so I just had to throw another perspective in...
 

lizmonster

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Before we derail into yet another false equivalency debate, let's look at the facts of this particular situation:

- The House has repeatedly passed a bill that the Senate has already passed unanimously.
- McConnell will not allow the Senate to vote on that bill again. Stated reason: The President will just veto it.
- The President asserted repeatedly on camera that he proudly owns this shutdown.
- Despite two years of government control, this wall has somehow not risen to this level of urgency until now.
- As border policy goes, a walls are ineffective. They also take a long time to build (there's no "emergency wall-building" methodology), and in this case would, by every estimate, cost far more than the President is asking for.

I am not at all clear how one arrives at the "both sides are responsible" conclusion.

As for the rest, I'll only say that throughout my life I've known multiple people who want to be doctors and lawyers, some explicitly for the money. I know hundreds who inexplicably want to be writers, despite the overwhelming likelihood they'll never get rich from it (or even make a living wage). I imagine there are a lot of different reasons one might choose to go into politics, but observationally? In my life I've met one person who aspired to a political career. Good guy, too. Wish I could remember his last name so I could google and see how he did.

There are awful people in every profession. But the "both parties are the same" conversation is about apathy and cynicism, and gives us nothing but the status quo.

Also, although I've voted GOP precisely once in my life, even I can see how radically different this GOP administration is from those that have come before. This is not business as usual. This is not the typical two-party wrangling. This is a deeply corrupt, unintelligent, easily-manipulated figurehead being enabled by his party for reasons I can only guess at. The government is being dismantled and undermined before our eyes. There's nothing typical about any of this.

I don't care why Pelosi went into politics. She's doing the right things here.
 

Alessandra Kelley

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“Innocent” is a very weird standard to judge politicians by (particularly since so much of Western religion teaches that no one is such).

I prefer to use standards like “competent,” “willing to uphold and submit to the Constitution and the laws,” “thoughtful,” and “concerned for the wellbeing of all constituents, including those who didn’t vote for them.”

By my standards there is a clear and glaring difference between the parties involved.
 

Brightdreamer

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Every time I see a "both parties are the same" claim, I wonder, "Okay, even if that's that's true, what do we do about it? Refuse to vote because both are the same?"

People who say that do precisely that: vote for neither party, with that smug little smile that says they've figured out the whole world's just a tool of the Man and a vast conspiracy.

And when bad people get into office - because not enough people actively voted against them - and do bad things - because not enough people stood up and shouted at them to stop - they're hurt just like everyone else.