State of The Union Response 85 Hosted by Bill Clinton
The State of the Union is coming up, and while we await the announcement of the GOP’s response giver, here is the Democratic response in 1985, with a familiar face leading the way:
Andrew Donaldson
Born and raised in West Virginia, Andrew has been the Managing Editor of Ordinary Times since 2018, is a widely published opinion writer, and appears in media, radio, and occasionally as a talking head on TV. He can usually be found misspelling/misusing words on Twitter@four4thefire. Andrew is the host of Heard Tell podcast. Subscribe to Andrew'sHeard Tell Substack for free here:
Lots of interesting things to note in this look back in time. In particular, it’s interesting to see the roots of what became the DNC in the ideology — or lack thereof — and so it’s not a huge surprise to see Clinton hosting it. And note the overt recognition of Republican political success and the perception that there has been governing success. You can read “We realize that Reagan just kicked our asses across 49 of the 50 states” and practically smell Clinton shouting “Triangulate around him!” to the other people trying to craft a message.
This wouldn’t fly today — the out-party NEVER admits that the in-party has done anything good or right these days. EVERYTHING the other party has done is bad; even if it seems good, there’s a dark side coming and we’re here to tell you about it. “The President has delivered free housetrained puppies to all American households, which seems wonderful, but who’s going to pick up all the puppy poop? This is only going to create more problems than it solves!”
I guess the spirit of ’85 is all gone now.Report