Democrats seek calm and counterprogramming ahead of SOTU

Perhaps the second-biggest question ahead of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday (behind “what will he actually say?”) is what, if anything, will Democrats do to mark the president’s first SOTU of his uniquely authoritarian second term? In the recent past, State of the Union addresses have contended with disruptive outbursts, coordinated shows of respectful disapproval and a growing cottage industry of high-profile rebuttals, some officially party-sanctioned, others largely self-promotional. But with tensions running high and Washington decorum to consider, Democrats now find themselves torn between calls for calm and calls for more visible forms of resistance.

Call for 'silent defiance'

Democratic Party leaders are “encouraging their troops to protest” the president’s State of the Union speech Tuesday evening, but “how it’s done” remains a “sensitive topic,” said The Hill. After party members “churned headlines” last year with a “series of in-your-face demonstrations” at the president’s joint address to Congress, leaders are eager to “avoid a repeat of those theatrics.” Democrats should attend in “silent defiance” or skip the speech entirely, said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.). Those skipping will have an opportunity to participate in a “variety of different alternate programming.”

Debate among Democrats over whether to disrupt, skip, or sit quietly through the State of the Union reflects “broader, ongoing divisions in party strategy,” said MS NOW. With an eye toward the upcoming midterm elections, party leaders are aware that “symbolic decisions” on interrupting or avoiding the speech “could resonate with voters back home.” For many, it’s “simply a dilemma” whether to “even attend,” said Axios. And for those who do attend, “don’t expect anything on the scale of last year” when disruptions repeatedly peppered Trump’s address. There will be “no organized choreography as far as I know,” said Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) to the outlet.

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“Central” to the Democrats’ intended “show of force” in standing up to the administration will be “victims of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein,” said Roll Call. The effort “starts from leadership on down” with multiple lawmakers, including party heads Jeffries and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), expected to bring Epstein survivors as their guests. Lawmakers participating in an advocacy group-sponsored “People’s State of the Union” alternative event on the National Mall will also be “sharing letters on behalf of Epstein survivors.”

Risking a diluted impact

Attendees of the “People’s State of the Union” include many lawmakers who eschewed major Trump events, like his inaugurations in the past, “underscoring a small but consistent block of Democrats” who continue to “opt out of the president’s most high-profile events,” said Politico. But after many who skipped the president’s first inauguration ultimately attended his second, the shrinking number of those avoiding his appearances signals a “faded resistance from the first Trump era.”

Barred by party leadership from interrupting Trump’s speech, Democrats are instead “planning individualized responses” to “show opposition to his agenda,” said Axios. But by trying to mobilize “every faction of their coalition before the midterms,” the party risks the fact that a “range of messages could dilute their impact.” Still, while it may complicate efforts to present a “fully unified front,” it has nevertheless become “common for factions within both parties to deliver separate rebuttals aimed at different constituencies.”