Perhaps the most revealing part about Thursday night, at least when it comes to members of the Republican Party, was what they refused to stand for. And I mean that literally. Traditionally, members of an opposing party will remain seated when they disagree with the president, and stand up — or at least clap — on matters of bipartisan consensus.
But on Thursday night, many Republicans refused to stand when President Joe Biden celebrated even the most fundamental American values and accomplishments. House Speaker Mike Johnson was a particularly awkward example of this, as he grimaced in his chair through the majority of the speech. Johnson and his peers refused to stand to celebrate job growth, plummeting inflation, or Biden’s pledge to buy American goods and products. They didn’t stand up to support literacy or increased access to preschool.
They didn’t stand in support of removing lead pipes for clean drinking water, ending cancer or protecting our troops.
They refused to stand for IVF, even though most claim they now support it. They refused to stand up against fentanyl traffickers. Those should all be no-brainers.
Unbelievably, Republicans didn’t even stand in defense of democracy — either here at home, or around the world — and they refused to stand up for NATO, the alliance that has kept the world safe for 75 years.
Biden admonished, “You can’t love your country only when you win.” And Republicans made clear Thursday that they certainly don’t seem to love much of America at all, as long as a Democrat is in office.