Sometimes reality is more absurd than any parody.

MSM folks who cheered on Nancy Pelosi as she tore up President Trump’s State of the Union speech as Congress and America watched are deeply upset that Republicans didn’t kiss President Biden’s ring.

Decorum, you know.

Nancy Pelosi, when asked about why she tore the speech up, asserted it was a dignified act, and that Trump’s lies should not be abided.

Liberals today find a few Republican backbenchers’ hootin’ and hollerin’ a few times during major Biden whoppers to be “chilling” and a display of how barbaric Republicans have become.

*inserts video of Nancy Pelosi ripping up the SOTU* https://t.co/ciSrBMtIHz

— RBe (@RBPundit) February 8, 2023

Democrats were famously respectful and decorous during Trump’s presidency, never displaying the least disrespect to the president. For instance, they would never consider promoting a #resist message or coordinating protests against the president during his SOTU.

It’s the same picture. pic.twitter.com/BcJWDz7X7H

— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) February 8, 2023

CNN went apoplectic about the disrespect shown to their God-emperor. But it’s OK, Biden wound up looking strong in the face of criticism, just as he showed China who is boss when he let the spy balloon complete its mission prior to shooting it down. He’s practically Maverick himself!

Lol hacks gonna hack https://t.co/W4gVERatDF

— Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) February 8, 2023

Biden looked as vigorous as a nursing home resident could, once he has chugged his crack-laced Ensure. While mostly coherent, Biden slurred his words occasionally lapsed into gibberish and displayed the self-awareness of his son Hunter. I gave the speech a solid “B” last night because Biden didn’t collapse in exhaustion and looked more vigorous than Konstantin Chernenko did while leading the Soviet Union. But brilliant and vigorous? Hardly.

pic.twitter.com/cKCfQrTiia

— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) February 8, 2023

I am too tuned into politics to know how all this looked to average folks, at least the ones who bothered to tune in. Surely clips of Republicans behaving badly will run continuously while anchors shake their heads in sadness or express their outrage at the barbarity of Republicans. Will people care, or are they just tired of the play-acting?

Ed wrote an excellent piece yesterday about how the SOTU is a farce. It is predicated on the idea that the presidency is sacred and that the once-most-important branch of government–the Congress–should pay homage to the Emperor. This isn’t how democratic governments are supposed to present themselves. The president is not Augustus Caesar or Marcus Aurelius, he is a servant whose job is to uphold laws–a concept we have tossed into the dustbin of history.

Look at Biden’s southern border if you think that enforcing laws is on Biden’s agenda.

The Brits treat their democratically elected leaders with the respect they deserve–little, and grudgingly given. Unite behind the leader abroad, and mercilessly tease them at home. Keep ’em humble, and on their toes.

After the gross disrespect hurled at President Trump every moment of his presidency, the accusations of treason, the insults hurled, and the invitation to #resist–including encouraging Executive Branch employees to disobey their boss–I don’t want to hear a peep about decorum. It is nothing but BS propaganda, and a disgrace from anybody who has used the term “Extreme-MAGA” and “insurrectionist.”

.@mehdirhasan: Marjorie Taylor Greene, a known liar on everything from Covid to drag queens to forest fires, breached decorum tonight by yelling “liar” at Biden during his speech. And as always, she’ll face no consequences for it. https://t.co/iCpmSQEPg8 pic.twitter.com/BpSwq8iY8U

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) February 8, 2023

Did some Congressmen behave badly? Perhaps. But as with kicking Members off committees, the Democrats set the precedent. Being horrified when a Congressman screams “liar” during Obama’s presidency was reasonable. But today the Democrats do nothing but lie and insult Republicans. Every chance they get.

Better to end the whole spectacle and replace it with a weekly, monthly, or even yearly “question time” along the British model. It’s hard to imagine an American president surviving even once. Being forced outside the sound-bite-dominated bubble and defending policies would be a lesson to presidents who think they are demigods.

Our politicians are too cosseted, not insufficiently so.

Noticing a slight difference in tone and framing about decorum when it was Democrats breaking it. pic.twitter.com/Ca3AGewNTK

— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) February 8, 2023