Congressional Republicans have found themselves completely stymied by President Obama’s executive action on immigration. There’s no bill for them to vote down, they lack the votes for impeachment, and shutting down the government never works. National Review editor Rich Lowry has suggested an innovative new way for Republicans to express their displeasure: ban President Obama from delivering the State of the Union Address:
>“If I were John Boehner,” he said, referring to the House speaker, “I’d say to the president: ‘Send us your State of the Union in writing. You’re not welcome in our chamber.’ ”
The best thing about this idea is that it’s incredibly simple, with a high upside, with almost no taxpayer dollars required. Congress would have to pay a couple of security guards an extra overtime shift to stand at the door of the House chamber and block the president from entering — it’s chump change.
On the other hand, it’s conceivable that the optics of Congress announcing that the first black president in American history is “not welcome in our chamber” could somehow backfire. Maybe the Republican Party’s leading intellectuals need to give them some deeper consideration.
