State of the Union: Will Rand Paul upstage Marco Rubio's response to Obama?
The Republican Party's divisions will be on stark display Tuesday night
Does the country really need two Republican responses to President Obama's State of the Union address? That's what voters may be wondering on Tuesday night, when Obama's speech is followed by an official GOP response from Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and a Tea Party rebuttal from Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky. You can practically hear the sound of establishment Republicans tearing their hair out, with Paul's unwelcome contribution only underscoring the party's deep divisions on a night when the GOP needs to present a unified, coherent alternative to Obama.
Paul, for his part, insists that his response is not meant to upstage Rubio's. "To me, I see it as an extra response, I don't see it as necessarily divisive," Paul told CNN. "He and I don't always agree, but the thing is, this isn't about he and I, this is about the Tea Party, which is a grassroots movement, a real movement."
Still, Paul's "extra response" will likely contribute to a jarring sense of double vision for voters, as two of the GOP's best-known politicians vie to speak for the country's conservatives. As Steve Benen writes at The Maddow Blog:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Furthermore, both Paul and Rubio are considered top potential contenders for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, which will only feed a sense that the two men are competing against one another. "Who can talk back at Obama better?" asks Dan Hirschhorn at New York Daily News. "Call it the first showdown of the Republican 2016 presidential primaries — though the Tea Party Express doesn't see it that way."
The tag-team approach to the State of the Union has become something of a tradition for the Republican Party. Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.) offered a Tea Party response in 2011, while pizza magnate Herman Cain did the honors in 2012.
But party leaders must be especially frustrated this year, given that Rubio is also a Tea Party favorite, boasting that often elusive mix of bedrock base support and establishment favor. If he can't unite the party, who can?
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Ryu Spaeth is deputy editor at TheWeek.com. Follow him on Twitter.
-
7 beautiful towns to visit in Switzerland during the holidays
The Week Recommends Find bliss in these charming Swiss locales that blend the traditional with the modern
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
The Week contest: Werewolf bill
Puzzles and Quizzes
By The Week US Published
-
'This needs to be a bigger deal'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
US election: who the billionaires are backing
The Explainer More have endorsed Kamala Harris than Donald Trump, but among the 'ultra-rich' the split is more even
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
US election: where things stand with one week to go
The Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is Trump okay?
Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The life and times of Kamala Harris
The Explainer The vice-president is narrowly leading the race to become the next US president. How did she get to where she is now?
By The Week UK Published
-
Will 'weirdly civil' VP debate move dial in US election?
Today's Big Question 'Diametrically opposed' candidates showed 'a lot of commonality' on some issues, but offered competing visions for America's future and democracy
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
1 of 6 'Trump Train' drivers liable in Biden bus blockade
Speed Read Only one of the accused was found liable in the case concerning the deliberate slowing of a 2020 Biden campaign bus
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published