So, having watched the entire SOTU, I decided to also do something I haven’t done in a very long time and watch the GOP response, delivered by one of the Senators from my state of residence, Katie Britt of Alabama.
Let me note that I have long thought this is a no-win speech, regardless of party and regardless of who the president is. You are always going to be going after the most powerful person in the world who is operating on a stage that cannot be replicated. These things are mostly forgettable, except when the person giving them does something noteworthy, like Senator Rubio’s infamous water bottle bit. (And I do expect that Senator Britt is going to be a character on SNL this weekend).
While I fully understand the opposition party’s desire for screen time, and also the undeniable attraction for a rising politician to get this kind of attention, I cannot think of an example that actually led to a given politician using this speech as a catapult to higher office. Although I may be forgetting someone who was able to capitalize.
Regardless, this was a weird speech given in a very weird manner. I am trying to put my finger on the whole thing. Part of it is that it was full of weird tonal swings. For example:
More clips here, via The Intelligencer: Katie Britt’s America Sounds Scary, But Not As Scary As Katie Britt.
I do have a bone to pick with that write-up, however:
But on Thursday night, she came across as perhaps the less impressive of the two Alabama senators — and her colleague is Tommy Tuberville.
I’m sorry, but as odd as the tonal swings were in this speech, Tuberville would have been a whole other ballgame of bad.
In general, I think that she was kind of doing a more intelligent and coherent version of Sarah Palin with a dash of Trump’s “American carnage” inauguration speech thrown in, but with a smile and in a kitchen.
A few observations:
- I am very tired of the kitchen table imagery. I understand what the goal is, but it is just tiresome at this point. (Also: weird imagery to suggest that she belongs in the kitchen–and I know enough about her to know that I think this did her a disservice).
- The notion that the border problems are this scary is just pure xenophobia. Yes, what happened to Laken Riley is terrible. That it tells us anything about the border or immigration policy is nonsense. N=1 is no way to make policy.
- The IVF thing is just amazing to me. The logical consequence of the GOP position on reproduction is exactly what the Alabama Supreme Court stated: that fertilized eggs are people. For the GOP to now try and make IVF a pro-life position is utterly nonsensical within the arguments they themselves have been making for decades.
- If Britt is concerned that retirees can’t afford both food and medicine without taking on part-time jobs, then maybe we have a problem with healthcare policy in this country.
More coverage:
- AL.com did the hometown thing and provided the most positive coverage I have seen: ‘Bless his heart’: Katie Britt says ‘dithering and diminished’ Biden ‘just doesn’t get it’. (It is mostly just quotes).
- Via ABC News: ‘Nightmare’: Sen. Katie Britt paints bleak picture of America in Republican response to Biden.
- Via the NYT: Katie Britt, With a Smile and a Fierce Glare, Delivers G.O.P. Response to Biden.
In the Republican Party’s official response to President Biden’s State of the Union address, Ms. Britt delivered a jarring speech that toggled between an increasingly strained cheerfulness and a fierce glare as she gave ominous warnings about illegal immigration.
