Jan. 24, 2019, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in response to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) rescinding her invitation to President Donald Trump to deliver his State of the Union Address before Congress:
“The annual State of the Union Address has been almost always delivered before Congress for more than 100 years, an important, bipartisan tradition that has carried forward despite the partisan makeup of Congress. It is a sad commentary on our times that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has lowered herself and the chamber she leads in a petty, partisan attempt to silence the duly elected President. Whatever their disagreements, the State of the Union is the opportunity for the elected President to make his or her case directly to Congress and the nation as a whole on proposed laws, budgetary items and key events that have transpired over the past year. It is truly sad that Speaker Pelosi has chosen to break this tradition.
“The real question is why Speaker Pelosi is afraid of hearing from the President? Could she be afraid to be pictured sitting behind him in the traditional setting from the House dais? Perhaps the most ironic aspect of her decision is that just twenty days ago in her opening speech as Speaker, Pelosi pledged, ‘that when we disagree, we will respect each other and we will respect the truth.’ Yet when it comes to hosting a dissenting view voiced by the elected leader of the free world, Pelosi has balked.
“The State of the Union tradition should continue and Pelosi’s shattering of the tradition represents a breakdown of political discourse in our country which symbolizes her own intransigence in the current partial government shutdown. Her my way or the highway approach will ultimately be rejected by the American people. Speaker Pelosi needs to remember that she leads exactly one-half of one of three co-equal branches of government. She is not the queen of hearts from Alice in Wonderland screaming ‘off with their heads,’ she is the Speaker of the House, and she needs to start acting like it.
“In the meantime, President Trump would be well advised to accept one of the invitations from state house leaders to present the State of the Union from their state capitals. It would be refreshing to get a view of our nation’s future direction from outside the poisonous swamp gas that envelops Washington, D.C.”
Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1003 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview.
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