WASHINGTON —Tuesday night, there was a lawless feeling in the U.S. Capitol.
Democrats were wondering why Rep. Al Green (D-TX) was booted from the House chamber during President Donald Trump’s address, even as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) was allowed to openly flout House rules yet went unpunished.
Few Democrats are coming to the defense of Rep. Al Green after Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) removed him for repeatedly yelling to Trump that he had “no mandate to cut Medicaid. " Even the congressman himself later told reporters he’s willing to face whatever punishment comes his way for publicly protesting the president.
“It’s worth it to let people know that there are some of us who are going to stand up against this president,” Green said.
But some Democrats are questioning what they see as a double standard in upholding the House of Representatives' crucial rules.
“Marjorie Taylor Greene was sitting over there with a cap on that violates the rules of the House,” Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) complained to Raw Story after the address of the congresswoman’s bright red, MAGA-style trucker cap emblazoned, ‘Trump was right about everything.’
“Nobody said one word to her, even though Nancy Pelosi told one of the guys, ‘Can you not see that cap over there?’ And he said, ‘Oh yeah, I see it’ and then he walked out,” Cleaver said. “So that's not right.”
Right or wrong, Republicans are writing — or, at the very least, interpreting — the rules in Washington these days.
That has Democrats scrambling. And breaking rules as they go.
There was a lot of rule-breaking in the House chamber
While it’s not his political style, Cleaver says he knows Rep. Al Green’s protest was motivated by his convictions.
“He's my friend, and he is somebody who believes deeply and irreversibly in treating people decently,” Cleaver said. “And I think some of the things that Mr. Trump has done and said violated what he believed to be, and he was courageous enough to stand up and challenge the president right there in the chamber.”
A few Democrats stood up, turned their back to the president, and revealed ‘Resist’ or ‘No king lives here’ tee shirts before walking out.
“That’s a lie!” Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) wrote on a mini whiteboard. Or “Start by paying your taxes!” on another.
A couple dozen House Democrats waved protest fans throughout the speech that were emblazoned “False,” “Musk steals,” “Save Medicaid” and “Protect veterans.”
“I thought it was effective. I think it was helpful to express how they were feeling without disrupting the proceedings,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) told Raw Story after the speech.
While Gillibrand respected the sign-waving, she wasn’t happy that Green yelled at the president during the address.
“I didn't appreciate it, but I can understand why he felt so strongly,” Gillibrand said. “It's not the time or the place, from my perspective, but, again, I understand how he feels — understand how a lot of people feel.”
Every elected Democrat feels that pressure to one degree or another.
“There are a whole variety of different tactics, and there is such pressure on us to express the strong convictions of our supporters that there's a desire to do that,” Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) told Raw Story. “Whether that is a way to win swing voters? Everybody has a different tactic.”
“Did you hold one of the signs?” Raw Story asked.
“No, I didn't, but I did collect them. Anybody who wanted a sign could get a sign,” Sherman — while holding at least three of his fellow Democrats’ discarded signs in his hands after the address — said. “I was busy taking notes on the speech and tweeting a little bit about it, so I thought my tweets were more interesting than their signs because they were longer.”
“I do not think anyone should heckle a president”
Other Democrats weren’t happy with all the rule-breaking, regardless of which side of the aisle it came from.
“I do feel that when you're in that chamber and the president of the United States is delivering a speech, there should be decorum in the chamber, respect for the office,” Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) told Raw Story.
While Booker loves Rep. Al Green as a colleague and friend, he does believe he crossed a line.
“I do not think anyone should heckle a president, interrupt their speech,” Booker said.
As for how the Democratic Party comes back, Sen. Gillibrand says it’s gonna take more than one speech.
“It's all about organizing and building a blue wave,” Gillibrand said. “Making sure our advocates and our allies are focused on explaining to the American people what's happening, explaining how these different cuts and changes are hurting communities and then building coalitions to oppose Trump in the next election.”
“Leave the antics to MTG?” Raw Story asked.
“Yeah,” Gillibrand said through a laugh.
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