So here is the Trump 2020 campaign's advertisement attacking Democrats for not applauding Trump's crappy presidency.

Courtesy of Raw Story: 

“President Donald Trump asked Democrats to join him in standing up for America,” text at the bottom of the video —which superimposed “patriotic” music over a clip from the president’s speech — reads. 

“Instead, they just sat there, and sat there,” the chyron reads, “disrespecting our people, disrespecting our country.” 

The video highlights the faces of multiple Democrats in the audience, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the former of which Trump referred to in his Ohio “treasonous” speech.

Okay that is some truly deceptive editing going on here. 

I think they just matched up the words of the speech with images of the Democrats sitting down kind of willy nilly.

I think it sort of took balls to include that remark about the lowest black unemployment ever, since after that speech it went right back up again.

So to be clear kids, it is NOT unpatriotic to yell "you lie!," during a speech by a Democratic President, but completely traitorous to refuse to give a standing ovation to a Republican president.

The only time I will give this POS a standing ovation is while watching him hauled out of the White House in handcuffs, or during his funeral, whichever comes first.

Open Thread for the State of the Uniom Speech. Update!

Looking forward to tomorrow’s State of the Uniom. pic.twitter.com/xdBUU3Pvo5

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) January 29, 2018

I think this screw up is probably a good indication of how FUBAR'd this speech is going to be.

Also how FUBAR'd the actual state of union is regardless of how Trump might describe it tonight. 

Like I said before, I'm not watching.

However I also knew that whatever I posted in this slot would invariably receive tons of comments about the speech, so why not leave a space for those very comments?

To start you of here are a couple of things to watch for.

The audience will be filled with both Dreamers and representatives of the #MeToo movement.

Melania Trump is expected to end her self imposed exile after the Stormy Daniels story broke, and make an appearance at the speech as well. (Maybe she can get a seat in the #MeToo section.

Those who do watch the actual televised speech will also have the opportunity to enjoy an advertisement calling for Trump's impeachment paid for by billionaire Tom Steyer. So that will be nice. 

I will update this post as information about the speech becomes available.

P.S. And on a serious note, whatever you do, do NOT play a drinking game which has you take a shot every time Trump tells a lie, or you are certain to die from alcohol poison.

Update: Apparently Melania got her own ride to the SOTU:

In a break with longstanding tradition, Melania Trump opted to ride with the guests she invited to share her first lady's box during President Donald Trump's State of the Union address. 

The motorcade ride, from the White House south lawn to the Capitol building, is just a handful of minutes, but for a first couple who has not been publicly seen together since New Year's Eve, the separate cars were another in a string of isolated movements from a very independent first lady.

Haven't yet confirmed where this latest statement (obtained by Buzzfeed) came from. But notice the signature on this statement is quite different from the one sent in her name by Michael Cohen earlier this month. pic.twitter.com/EgOIjbSG3E

— Jeremy Diamond (@JDiamond1) January 30, 2018

Somehow Daniels (Well we have to assume it's Daniels.) was pressured into stating that she did NOT have an affair with Trump, even after passing a lie detector test saying she did for interview in In Touch magazine, but clearly Melania ain't buying it.

Update 2:

Hissing and some boos in the chamber as the president says “chain migration” allows people to bring in a “nearly unlimited” number of extended family

His proposal would limit family-sponsored migration to spouses and minor children

— Kasie Hunt (@kasie) January 31, 2018

Wait, nobody called him a liar? This would be the perfect time to call him a liar.

Update 3: I feel their pain.

Here's the generals reacting to increasing our nuclear arsenal 😐 #SOTU pic.twitter.com/l6Ujnk3JIg

— Dan Milano (@DanMilanoHere) January 31, 2018

Update 4: And the hits just keep on coming.

"So today, I am keeping another promise. I just signed an order directing Secretary Mattis to reexamine our military detention policy and to keep open the detention facilities in Guantanamo Bay." #SOTU: https://t.co/Njo52YOlc2

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 31, 2018

More nuclear weapons, more prisons, more racism. Lucky us.

Supreme Court badass Ruth Bader Ginsburg has better things to do than show up to Trump's first State of the Union speech.

Courtesy of The Hill: 

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will not be in attendance at President Trump's first State of the Union address on Tuesday. 

Ginsburg is scheduled to be at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island for her speaking tour on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press. 

While Ginsburg has been critical of Trump in the past, her talk at the university was announced last August. 

Ginsburg did not attend Trump's address to Congress last year after attending all eight of former President Obama's addresses. 

Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas also did not attend Trump's address. 

Mandatory attendance of course is not expected of Supreme Court Justices, but they do typically make an appearance.

Of course Ginsberg and Trump have had a notoriously strained relationship.

Justice Ginsburg of the U.S. Supreme Court has embarrassed all by making very dumb political statements about me. Her mind is shot - resign!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 13, 2016

Personally I do not blame Ginsburg, you could not get me there at gunpoint.

And as it turns out there are a lot of other people with better things to do that night as well.

Such as hold their own Hollywood version of the SOTU for instance:   

Mark Ruffalo and a bevy of Hollywood fixtures — including director Michael Moore, “The View’s” Whoopi Goldberg, Rosie Perez and “Sex and the City’s” Cynthia Nixon — are participating in a star-studded counter-event to President Trump’s State of the Union. 

The so-called “People’s State of the Union” will be held on Monday, the night before Trump’s address to Congress on Jan. 30. 

Ruffalo, one of Trump’s most outspoken Hollywood critics, told People magazine that the alternative event will be “a better reflection of our state of the union based on a more populist point of view, based on the people’s point of view." 

"I think it’s important because we have a president who has a difficult time with the truth, who has a radical, divisive agenda, and spends an enormous amount of time focusing on the negative and hopelessness and despair,” the Oscar-nominated actor said. 

The function, hosted by We Stand United, MoveOn.org Political Action and Stand Up America, will also reportedly feature comedian Wanda Sykes, actress Kathy Najimy, singer Andra Day and rapper Common.

Oh yeah, that sounds like a lot more fun. 

Wouldn't it be a kick in the ass if Ginsburg managed to get out of her Rhode Island gig early and showed up to this People's State of the Union event?

Oh yeah the orange tinted Twitter fingers would certainly be maniacally tapping away then.

House Republican to bring Bill Nye "The Science Guy" to Trump's State of the Union Address.

Courtesy of The Hill: 

Celebrated children's TV show host and outspoken environmentalist Bill Nye "The Science Guy" will attend this year's State of the Union address in Washington, D.C., as guest of GOP Rep. Jim Bridenstine of Oklahoma. 

“Bill Nye has been inspiring countless young people to enter the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math since before we used STEM as an acronym. Our country needs these disciplines now more than ever," Bridenstine said in a statement. 

Nye has been an outspoken critic of the Trump administration, calling it the "anti-science movement."

It should also be noted that Bridenstine is Trump's pick to head NASA, though he ha not yet been confirmed. So doing this seems kind of like a big middle finger to Donald Trump.

I have already decided that I am going to boycott the speech personally, but I will be closely following it on Twitter, because the idea of Trump giving this speech in front of an audience with multiple sexual abuse survivors and Bill Nye in attendance just seems like it could make for some high comedy.

Female Democratic lawmakers are planning to wear black to Trump's first State of the Union speech in solidarity with the #MeToo movement.

NEW -- Washington following Hollywood's lead: A group of female Democratic lawmakers is planning to wear black to President Trump's first State of the Union address in a show of solidarity for #MeToo and #TimesUp

— Geoff Bennett (@GeoffRBennett) January 9, 2018

Courtesy of Yahoo News: 

A number of women in Congress are planning to wear black to the State of the Union later this month as a show of support for women affected by sexual misconduct. 

The show of support echoes actresses who wore black to last Sunday's Golden Globes to support the Me Too and Time's Up movements. 

NBC News was first to report Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., was calling for lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to dress in black. President Trump will deliver his first State of the Union address on Jan. 30. 

The movement is being championed by the Democratic Women's Working Group, which includes all female Democratic members of the House of Representatives.

Damn!

And that's not all. Some Democrats are also planning to bring victims of sexual assault to the speech as their guests.

I was planning to boycott Trump's SOTU speech, but now I am a little intrigued to see if this fucks with his head.

Looking out over a sea of women dressed in black, sitting next to victims of sexual assault, and knowing they are there to send him a message, could render Trump even more incoherent than usual.

People have been calling on the Democrats to start upping their game.

Well from Dianne Feinstein's brave actions the other day, their push back on the border wall, their call for a more comprehensive response to Russia election meddling, and now this. I would say they are doing exactly that.

President Obama at his first State of the Union speech and his last one.

God that's just heartbreaking isn't it?

One of my favorite moments from last night's SOTU. President Obama takes on deniers of scientific facts.

Courtesy of Mediaite:

During Tuesday night’s State of the Union address, President Barack Obama slipped in a well-placed subtle zing against climate deniers by pointing to our nation’s history of facing adversity. 

After a rousing section of oratory that briefly touched on the overreach of big banks and the need for small-businesses in the American economy, the President shifted to the role of innovation and science. 

The crack at first did not seem to fall on the entire House Chamber, but cameras caught several knowing Democrats — including Elizabeth Warren, Al Franken, and next year’s potential address speaker Bernie Sanders — smirking along at the President’s jab.

Now see THAT is the kind of ninja like pointed remarks that Obama is really good at slipping into his speeches. The only problem is that a whole swath of the electorate is simply not sharp enough to pick up on them.

I call those people Republican voters.

You know the same people who invited this lunatic to sit in the audience during the State of the Union speech.

Let's face it even with her hair stacked that high, the remark went right over her head.

By the way another remark that the President made during his speech was this:

"Our businesses have created jobs every single month since it (Obamacare) became law."

As it turns out that is actually completely true.

Yeah, yet another fact that the conservatives refuse to accept.

State of the Union Open Thread. Update!

I am probably only going to be able to hang in here for only part of this speech as I have things to do tonight. However I will try to stay on top of the comments so all of you can share and discuss your impressions.

I actually think this speech is going to be rather incredible, as this President is clearly determined to go out with a bang and not a whimper.

Here is a clip of the interview that the President did this morning on the Today Show concerning the speech.

CNN thinks that Obama is paving the way for another Clinton Presidency.

There will be an empty seat in the First Lady's box in remembrance of the victims of gun violence.

Kentucky county clerk, Kim Davis, will be there for some odd reason. 

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley will be giving the conservative rebuttal to the SOTU so that ought to be good for a laugh or two.

As always I will be drunkenly tweeting my responses which can be seen here.

My personal hope is that at about the halfway point Obama just rips off his tie, grabs onto the podium, and just goes off on a expletive riddled rant about the obstructionism and dirty tricks used by the Republicans during the last seven years that leaves them all stunned and slack jawed.

I doubt that will happen, but still a boy's got to dream.

Update:

"We’ve cut our imports of foreign oil by nearly 60%" —@POTUS #SOTU #ActOnClimate pic.twitter.com/8k6zxCdhmE

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 13, 2016

Update 2: Here is the full transcript.

Joni Ernst is all about cutting pork. Unless of course that pork puts bacon on her family's table.

So during Senator Ernst's GOP rebuttal to President Obama's SOTU speech, she talked about cutting government spending and her own terribly challenging childhood during which she was forced to wear bread bags on her feet. (I swear I almost teared up.)

However, and I know this will be shocking to some, it seems there may have been a touch of hypocrisy in that rebuttal speech. (I know, right?)


According to a story by The District Sentinel it appears that Ernst family pigs were not the only ones feeding at the trough:  

The truth about her family’s farm roots and living within one’s means, however, is more complex. Relatives of Ernst (née: Culver), based in Red Oak, Iowa (population: 5,568) have received over $460,000 in farm subsidies between 1995 and 2009. Ernst’s father, Richard Culver, was given $14,705 in conservation payments and $23,690 in commodity subsidies by the federal government–with all but twelve dollars allocated for corn support. Richard’s brother, Dallas Culver, benefited from $367,141 in federal agricultural aid, with over $250,000 geared toward corn subsidies. And the brothers’ late grandfather Harold Culver received $57,479 from Washington—again, mostly corn subsidies—between 1995 and 2001. He passed away in January 2003. 

The Sentinel cross-referenced the Environmental Working Group farm subsidy database with open source information to verify the Culvers’ interest in the Department of Agriculture’s crop support program. 

Sen. Ernst’s family’s financial interest notably came up once during her campaign. In October, Salon reported that Richard’s construction company was awarded $215,665 in contracts from the Montgomery County government in 2009 and 2010, while Ernst was the body’s auditor. The bids won by Culver included Federal Emergency Management Agency projects worth $204,794. 

While Ernst didn’t play a deliberative role in awarding the contracts, Salon reported that strict state ethics laws stipulate for “contracts to be voided if any county ‘officer or employee’ has an interest in the contractor.” County auditors are allowed to solicit contract proposals and publish bid notices, however, and in 2007, Ernst was appointed the county’s chief financial officer overseeing federal and state assistance in the wake of flooding. She held the role while serving as auditor simultaneously.

Shocked! That's what I am, shocked!

From Ernst's rebuttal speech:  

"Our parents may not have had much, but they worked for what they did have." 

Yeah, and the subsidies provided by the government sure made what they did have last a hell of a lot longer, didn't they?

Republicans release their own video of the President's SOTU speech in which they edit out remarks criticizing them over their stance on climate change. Well of course they did.

Courtesy of Think Progress:  

The official website for House Republicans has posted on YouTube a version of President Obama’s State of the Union address which cuts out comments where the President was critical of Republican rhetoric on climate change, ThinkProgress has learned.

On John Boehner's official You Tube page he offers the "enhanced" version of the speech which features embedded images and factoids that refute much of what the President was saying.

Oh and it does one more thing:

At the 43:25 minute mark, President Obama is supposed to say “I’ve heard some folks try to dodge the evidence by saying they’re not scientists; that we don’t have enough information to act. Well, I’m not a scientist, either. But you know what — I know a lot of really good scientists at NASA, and NOAA, and at our major universities. The best scientists in the world are all telling us that our activities are changing the climate, and if we do not act forcefully, we’ll continue to see rising oceans, longer, hotter heat waves, dangerous droughts and floods, and massive disruptions that can trigger greater migration, conflict, and hunger around the globe.” Instead, the entire section is skipped. Obama’s comments resume with “The Pentagon says that climate change poses immediate risks to our national security. We should act like it.”

Gee I wonder why the Republicans were so sensitive about THAT part?

Could it be becasue it demonstrated how full of crap they were in their argument over climate change? Hmmm?

Well I have only on thing to say to that.

By they way Politifact has also been fact checking the President's speech and for the most part he got just about everything right.

President Obama's best zinger last night did not go over well with Republicans. Bummer.

"I've run my last campaign," Obama said toward the end of the nationally televised address. Republicans in the chamber applauded derisively, which prompted the president to ad-lib a zinger which wasn't in his prepared remarks: "I know because I won both of them."

Damn that was good. I could watch it over and over.

And I have.

However it did not exactly make the Republicans feel all warm and fuzzy toward the President. And I know that because one of them even said that out loud.

Courtesy of HuffPo:  

"Probably not helpful when you rub the other guy's nose in the dirt a little bit," Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), a close ally of Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), told reporters. 

"Look, he's allowed to take a victory lap but he ought to be thinking about what works — what's gonna help me actually put points on the board," Cole said. "How are you going to define your legacy in the last two years. Is this all about a third Obama term by winning the presidency? Then that would suggest you just want confrontation and the ability for your nominee to attack a 'do nothing right wing Congress.'" 

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) called Obama's jab — and overall speech — "disappointing," pointing to the Democrats' crushing defeat in the November congressional elections. 

"If the president sticks to the tone that he chose tonight — if he sticks to anger and defiance towards the American voters, then perhaps he will veto bill after bill after bill after bill," Cruz told a scrum of reporters. "But if he chooses to embrace and revel in gridlock and obstructionism that will be an unfortunate choice and I hope he reconsiders." 

Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) was less troubled by Obama's line, calling it "an interesting throwaway." 

"It was kind of like he got back in campaign mode and did that. And so that's all I make of it," she told TPM. 

Senate Energy Committee Chair Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said Obama's remarks did not make her feel "warm and fuzzy" about having to work with him for the next two years.

Would you like a little cheese with that whine Senator Murkowski?

Of course making the President's speech even more impressive was the fact that there were multiple Republican rebuttals, that went from the sublime to the ridiculous.

#JoniErnst "Don't tax-punish the rich for successfully squeezing their low-wage employees" #sotu pic.twitter.com/2Sr2NnwsPZ
— Pat Bagley (@Patbagley) January 21, 2015

Of course the official one was from newly minted hog castrating Senator Joni Ernst.

Who really did not address much of anything the President actually said, and instread focused on the fact that she had to wear bread bags on her shoes as a child.

Which inspired the #breadbagshoes on Twitter.

Simpsons already did it. #breadbagshoes pic.twitter.com/GS55Xuohsh
— Jillian Sederholm (@JillianSed) January 21, 2015

(Trust me that was one of the mild ones.)

Perhaps my favorite rebuttal of the group came from Ted Cruz, who part way through stopped for a do over, that somehow got posted to You Tube.

You know that rising up on his toes thing to make a point is really off putting.

My favorite line, due to it's utter stupidity, was this one:

"Tonight not a word was said about radical Islamic terrorism. Those words did not come out of the President's mouth. We cannot win a war on radical Islamic terrorism, with the President unwilling to even say the words radical Islamic terrorism."

He does know that those are not magic words, right?

And of course No Nothing from the North had to offer her two cents as well.

Palin's ghostwriter wrote a lot of words that essentially say nothing of any importance, and then she ended the post using this graphic.

Which is essentially my response to anything that Palin's ghostwriter has to say about the SOTU speech as well. So I borrowed it.

You know the conservatives can bitch and moan all damn day if they want to, but the President knocked the hide off the ball last night.

I know it, you know it, and more importantly, the Republicans clearly know it.

State of the Union open thread. Update.

I think I am on record as saying that I am not a big fan of the open thread.

However I think that this state of the union speech tonight is going to be historic, some bits have already leaked out, and that it will not only lay out the President's plans for the next two yeas but also piss the Republicans off like nobody's business.

In other words it will be great TV.

As we go into the speech the President's approval ratings have now risen to 50% in some polls, he has a new tax proposal, and it appears that he is focused with laser like intensity on his legacy and is daring any Republican to try and stop him.

Update: Here is the full text of the speech so that you can follow along.

Update:

"I have no more campaigns to run ... [GOP applaud] .... I know, because I won both of them" Barack Obama? ❤ ya! pic.twitter.com/V4LDQRY9Gm
— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) January 21, 2015

Favorite line of the night.

Update: Here is the full speech.

This may be the best SOTU I have ever heard. 

Newly elected teabagging Senator Joni Ernst has been selected to give the Republican response to the President's State of the Union speech.

"Uh oh."

Courtesy of Politico:  

Newly elected Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst will give the Republican response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union next Tuesday. 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) called Ernst, a folksy member of the National Guard and former state senator, the “perfect” messenger for the big night. She defeated Democratic candidate Bruce Braley in 2014, taking a seat held by Democrats for 30 years.

The announcement was made at a joint Republican House and Senate legislative retreat here Thursday. 

“Americans voted for change and Sen. Ernst will explain what the new Congress plans to do and is already doing to change and what it is already doing to return Washington’s focus to the concerns of the middle class and away from the demands of the political class,” McConnell said. 

Oh this should be good. I wonder what I will find to mock this year?

Does anybody remember Bobby Jindal's incredibly awkward walk to the podium in 2009?

Or Marco Rubio's dive for the water bottle in 2013?

However my favorite would have to be Michele Bachmann's unofficial teabagger rebuttal delivered to somebody slightly off to her right.

Oh yes, Joni Ernst has a mighty large pair of clown shoes to fill.

But I've seen her talk, so I think she might be up to the job.

Sarah Palin gives passive aggressive endorsement to a Peggy Noonan column.

This from the "Queen of Holding Grudges" Facebook page:  

Great article, Peggy, but where the heck were you when I and other commonsense conservatives were sounding the warning bell in '08? You joined the "cool kids" in mocking and condescendingly criticizing -- ultimately demanding that we "sit down and shut up." Better late than never, though, Peggy and your ilk, because, meanwhile back in America... 

Oooh, snippy!

I don't have an account with the Wall Street Journal so I can't see the article she is alluding to, but here is how Politico described it:  

Palin was presumably referring to Noonan's remarks in a series of interviews last fall, during which she accused tea party conservatives of trying to "topple" the GOP and said they needed to stop name-calling and work out their differences with establishment Republicans. 

In Friday's column, titled "Meanwhile, Back in America...", Noonan called President Obama's State of the Union address "a spectacle of delusion and self-congratulation" that failed to address the true concerns of most Americans. According to Noonan, those concerns include the fate of the school voucher program, the IRS's targeting of conservatives and the plight of nuns who "have, quite cruelly, been told they must comply with the ObamaCare mandate that all insurance coverage include contraceptives, sterilization procedures, morning-after pills."

Of course Noonan is a well known Right Wing hack so I do not give her article much credibility, and if Palin kinda sorta endorsed it then it deserves even less as far as I am concerned.

However I DO remember a time when Noonan was right on the money back in 2009:

In television interviews she was out of her depth in a shallow pool. She was limited in her ability to explain and defend her positions, and sometimes in knowing them. She couldn't say what she read because she didn't read anything. She was utterly unconcerned by all this and seemed in fact rather proud of it: It was evidence of her authenticity. She experienced criticism as both partisan and cruel because she could see no truth in any of it. She wasn't thoughtful enough to know she wasn't thoughtful enough. Her presentation up to the end has been scattered, illogical, manipulative and self-referential to the point of self-reverence. "I'm not wired that way," "I'm not a quitter," "I'm standing up for our values." I'm, I'm, I'm. 

In another age it might not have been terrible, but here and now it was actually rather horrifying.

Oh yeah, that's the stuff.

And then there was this moment caught on an NBC open mic back in September 2008, right after McCain picked Palin: 

After a segment with NBC's Chuck Todd ended today, Republican consultant Mike Murphy and Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan were caught on a live mike ridiculing the choice of Sarah Palin. 

"It's over," said Noonan, who then responded to a question of whether Palin is the most qualified Republican woman McCain could have chosen. 

"The most qualified? No. I think they went for this — excuse me — political bullshit about narratives," she said. "Every time the Republicans do that, because that's not where they live and it's not what they're good at, they blow it." 

Murphy chimed in: 

"The greatness of McCain is no cynicism, and this is cynical."

You know it must have really burned Palin's ass to give Noonan even that bitchy hat tip today, because as we know a Palin never forgives.

Unless of course it was the work of a soon to be kicked to the curb ghostwriter.

Hey remember that sob story about "Bette" having to pay $700 more for premiums thanks to Obamacare that was told during the official GOP response to the President's SOTU speech? Yeah that was bullshit.

"Wait, I'm getting fact checked? Nobody said anything about fact checking."

Courtesy of the LA Times:  

The centerpiece of the Republican party's attack on the Affordable Care Act following President Obama's State of the Union address this week was the story of "Bette." 

Bette was an otherwise unidentified Washington state resident featured in the official GOP response to the Obama speech delivered by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.). According to Rodgers, 

Bette had written her a letter stating that she had "hoped the president’s healthcare law would save her money – but found out instead that her premiums were going up nearly $700 a month." The lesson, according to Rodgers: "This law is not working." Bette has now been tracked down by her hometown Spokane Spokesman-Review. She's Bette Grenier, who owns a small business with her husband. Unsurprisingly, her story is much different from the sketchy description provided by Rodgers. That description perplexed experts, including Washington State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler, who couldn't understand how a state resident "would have no choice but to pay $700 per month more for a policy that meets the Affordable Care Act’s coverage requirements," the newspaper reported. 

Grenier told the newspaper that she wrote Rodgers after her insurance company informed her that her $552-a-month catastrophic health plan would not be offered in 2014. It offered her an alternative plan complying with the ACA at $1,052 a month. 

But that sounds like her insurer trying to steer her to an overpriced option. A compliant plan meeting the Affordable Care Act's coverage mandates actually is available from Washington's insurance exchange for much less -- and with a deductible far lower than the $10,000 she was paying under the old plan and broader coverage, though lacking a provision for four free doctor visits a year provided by her old plan. 

Grenier said she had flatly refused to even investigate her options on the exchange. "I wouldn’t go on that Obama website at all,” she said. “We liked our old plan. It worked for us, but they can’t offer it anymore.” 

Instead, she and her husband "have decided to go without coverage," the newspaper reported. 

"We wouldn't go on that Obama website."

We "have decided to go without coverage."

Yeah THAT'LL teach Obama!

You know the Republican strategy for 2014 seems to be to make a bunch of commercials featuring people who are upset at the horrible things that Obamacare has done to their health insurance.

However if THIS is the best they can do, and remember this was featured in the OFFICIAL Republican response, then it should prove quite easy for the Democrats to smack each one down in turn.

Essentially the Republican's position seems to be, "We hate Obamacare because Obama passed it, we like our OLD health care though we never really understood it, and we cannot work a computer. Benghazi, Benghazi, Benghazi!"

The President's SOTU speech. The good, the bad, and the ugly GOP responses.

CNN instant poll on Obama’s State of the Union pic.twitter.com/1WyEcllaX8
— Jon Passantino (@passantino) January 29, 2014

I am just going to use this post as a one stop shop for SOTU attacks, ratings, and trivia.

Above you can see the CNN instant polls.

Here ABC News gives you the breakdown by the numbers:

 As all the talk about the words in President Obama’s State of the Union address begins, here’s the speech by the numbers: 

80 applause interruptions 

15 minutes, 36 seconds – total length of those interruptions 

3 laughter interruptions 

40 standing ovations (19 of them bipartisan, 21 Democrats-only) 

36 rounds of bipartisan applause 

42 rounds of Democrats-only applause 

2 rounds where it was too hard to tell

Here is Rachel Maddow confronting  Rep. Huelskamp over this tweet, and many others:

Obama politicizes the military to end his speech. Totally expected, Mr. President. #SOTU
— Cong. Tim Huelskamp (@CongHuelskamp) January 29, 2014

Maddow challenged Rep. Huelskamp on-air over his strange and arrogant comments. 

“I have to ask you if that was tongue in cheek — do you really believe that was ‘politicizing’ the military,” she asked. 

Hueskamp responded that the GOP “actually invited our own veteran,” and claimed that the President “ran against the military” and “highlights them when it helps politically.” 

Never mind that President Obama spent hours with the troops during his vacation in Hawaii over Christmas, and made most of that visit off-limits to the press — so it wasn’t “political.” 

Maddow would not let the Tea Party member from Kansas get away with that. 

“How did he run against the military?” 

“It’s pretty clear — he wanted to bring the troops home, he wants to close Gitmo, he wants to do all kinds of things…” 

“Is bringing the troops home your definition of being against the military?” 

That’s when Huelskamp lost it. 

“You know they’re hiding the truth on Benghazi,” Rep. Huelskamp said. “We’re looking for them to come forward, let those folks testify who were on the ground.” 

“It’s also the responsibility of Hillary Clinton,” he added. “Just a few months ago she said what difference does it make? Two days ago she says it was the biggest regret in her life.” 

As the interview progressed, Huelskamp accused Maddow of “being a cheerleader” instead of a journalist. 

“Did you just call me a cheerleader?” she asked, shocked. 

“I don’t know, maybe you have that history,” Huelskamp quipped. “If it was Bush, you would be jumping and screaming.” 

“You’re amazing,” Maddow responded, clearly shocked and irritated.

Yep, that went well. What a douchenozzle!

Here are a few of the GOP responses:

First the official Republican response featuring  Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the gist of which apparently was that she really wanted to thank God for allowing her to give birth to a child with Down syndrome. (The Rubio thirst starts to hit her at about the 2:00 mark.)

Then there is the Tea Party response courtesy of Sen. Mike Lee.

Yes this Mike Lee, seen standing between the Lunatic from Lake Lucille, and Rafael Cruz wearing his Brokeback Mountain jacket.

Then Rand Paul gave HIS response to the President's speech, because....well everybody else got to. (You'll be happy to know that Paul got through the entire speech without bringing up Monica Lewinsky. However he did call government stupid, which of course would be less true if he and Mike Lee were to resign. Oh, and House Republicans called it blatant self promotion.)

There was apparently yet ANOTHER response delivered by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtine of Florida, but I don't know who the hell that is.

There was also a response from the aforementioned Lake Lucille Lunatic, but it is so full of moosepoop that it is really beneath our notice. (Besides she didn't write it.)

By the way here is the actual transcript of the speech so you can see for yourselves that it was pretty damn good.

And finally here is the best expression of the entire night.

Go ahead, try not to smile.

What made it even better is that it happened right next to Speaker Boehner, who had this expression on his face.

In many ways I think THAT summed up the different responses to the President's speech last night.

State of the Union Open Thread. Update!

Here is the streaming video for those who do not have access to televisions.

I will be commenting as the speech proceeds, and I invite you to join me.

Update: Biden being Biden.

Biden! pic.twitter.com/0l7QU906xC
— Ethan Klapper (@ethanklapper) January 29, 2014

Ok that was the loudest standing O and gallery guests were on their feet too. Doesn't happen often. Women's equal pay.
— Kelly O'Donnell (@KellyO) January 29, 2014

Cue cameras desperately searching for a Republican woman.
— Krystal Ball (@krystalball) January 29, 2014

Perhaps the best part so far.

Obama: "Together with our allies, we will complete our mission by the end of this year, and America’s longest war will finally be over."
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 29, 2014

"If Kennedy/Reagan could negotiate w/Soviet Union, then surely a strong and confident America can negotiate with less powerful adversaries"
— West Wing Reports (@WestWingReport) January 29, 2014

Beautiful moment,

President Obama: "On his 10th deployment, Cory was nearly killed by a massive roadside bomb in Afghanistan." #SOTU pic.twitter.com/CU29om1WRb
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 29, 2014

Update: I think the President was pretty fired up over all, which must be difficult with only a 42% approval rating. He only talked briefly about gun violence, but he waxed poetic about green energy, ending the wars, increasing the minimum wage, and job creation.

Overall it was pretty damn impressive.

Now, release the pundits.

Update: Here come the clowns.

Republican Response from Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (@cathymcmorris) – LIVE on C-SPAN http://t.co/ed04yHkH6S pic.twitter.com/GBTsLeoyHD

— CSPAN (@cspan) January 29, 2014

A little holiday humor for you this morning, Stephen Colbert's Year in Review.

Click the dimwit to play video

John McCain caught playing poker on his iPhone during hearing on Syria.

Courtesy of The Washington Post:

Senator John McCain plays poker on his IPhone during a U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hearing where Secretary of State JohnKerry, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey testify concerning the use of force in Syria, on Capitol Hill in Washington DC, Tuesday, September 3, 2013. 

Busted!

McCain has received some criticism for this, but rather than deny it McCain copped to it with a touch of good humor.

Scandal! Caught playing iPhone game at 3+ hour Senate hearing - worst of all I lost!
— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) September 3, 2013

You know at his age I guess we should all be pleased that he managed to stay awake during the over three hour hearing. You know, something he was unable to manage during the State of the Union.

And it could certainly have been worse. I mean what if they had taken the picture of what McCain was looking at BEFORE he started playing poker?

Yep, much worse.

P.S. Probably unrelated but McCain  has just decided to withhold his support for the revised plan coming out of the Senate.

Leave it to Stephen Colbert to have the best take on the Rubio water grab EVER!

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

And if you like that, you are going to LOVE this!

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

Oh my God, that was hilarious!

You know I was watching Rachel Maddow yesterday and she essentially pleaded with the Republicans to NEVER put one of their politicians in the position of giving the response to the SOTU speech ever again, as it is the kiss of death for them.

I disagree. In fact watching them fail so spectacularly may be my FAVORITE part of the SOTU night.