What the hell am I watching: Republicans torch their own SOTU rebuttal

[pnwmom]

Source: Rolling Stone

THE RITUAL SURROUNDING the annual State of the Union is never complete until the president's opposition has presented its rebuttal -- occasionally in an embarrassing manner.

Katie Britt, the junior Republican senator from Alabama, delivered the GOP's rebuttal to President Joe Biden's address on Thursday. Her impassioned, breathless speech -- delivered at times in an ASMR-esque whisper from what appeared to be her kitchen -- ended up feeling more like a rejected audition tape for a supporting role on "Grey's Anatomy" than the hard-hitting political sparring favored by Biden's Republican critics.

Into the late hours of the night, Rolling Stone was inundated, sometimes completely unprompted, with messages from longtime GOP operatives, right-leaning pollsters, conservative Capitol Hill staff, MAGA lawyers, and even some senior members of Trump's own 2024 campaign absolutely torching Britt's absurdly over-dramatic rebuttal.

"What the hell am I watching right now?" a Trump adviser asked, mid-Britt remarks.



Read more: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/katie-britt-sotu-rebuttal-torched-republicans-1234983528/

---

Meanwhile, on a sports forum, Trumpers are in agony.

https://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/politics/yikes-katie-britt-comes-across/112546315/page-4/?fbclidIwAR3vFYHAQMWbPutNzCttRXpgWLS5fmtwmrnTdSp2kr49YcPCbQMicyk-ZX4

"Unfortunately this is a lock to be a SNL skit Saturday. They probably just started work on it now."

And from the Huff Post:

Sen. Katie Britt's deeply weird Biden response is freaking people out.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/katie-britt-weird-rebuttal_n_65ea95e3e4b0c77c7415f5f8

[NanaCat]

1. They're watching the logical outcome

Of dumbing down their party until their collective brainpower couldn't budge a quark.

[pnwmom]

2. Yup. Welcome to DU, NanaCat! nt

[Roy Rolling]

61. Just seeing this...

Love it. But the quintessential SNL skit will be Bobby Jindal handing over “WORST SOTU RESPONSE” honors.😻

How quickly we forget. Except Louisiana where Republicans just elected Cajun Jindal 2.0 as guv.

[orangecrush]

15. Welcome and thank you

Well put.

[niyad]

36. Welcome to our DU family.

[LuvLoogie]

38. Aye. Welcome to DU.

[NBachers]

3. Slashing violin short from Psycho

?si=SWjJ8R1on-wzA_ho

[BumRushDaShow]

4. I'm glad I chose to stick with CSPAN

all the way until after 11 pm EST when Pres. Biden finally exited the House chamber (they were required to keep broadcasting while the House was in session). I managed to avoid what apparently turned out to be a GOP response.

[pnwmom]

6. Oh, but it was fun to watch the ridiculousness of it all! n/t

[BumRushDaShow]

8. I saw this from the OP article

A lawyer working in the Trump orbit says the performance reminded them of public-access television, and a senior House congressional aide remarks that it was “cringe”-inducing to watch and likely destined to be turned into a “lame [Saturday Night Live] skit” this weekend.

THAT is guaranteed to happen on SNL now!

[EYESORE 9001]

10. Remember the 'crazy eyes' girlfriend of YouTube virality?

She should do a guest shot on SNL.

I scared myself a little bit just posting this

[BumRushDaShow]

17. Bwah!

[littlemissmartypants]

20. ...

[FailureToCommunicate]

25. Yikes! I saw Young Republicans, and religious zealots like that in college. I'd walk to the...

other side of the street.
Creepy shark eyes.

[Oopsie Daisy]

26. The eyes are the windows to the soul..

[peppertree]

34. Mk Ultra

Although that one was probably born that way.

[BumRushDaShow]

40. Don't forget one of the most famous ones of all

[Oopsie Daisy]

43. Eek!

You're correct! I did forget her. I haven't thought about her in almost forever.

Now I need to reset my timer of not-thinking-about her to 0-hours, 0-days, 0-months, 0-years.

[BumRushDaShow]

49. She was a DU favorite!

[wolfie001]

68. Eatin' corn dogs with jesus

Fucking hilarious! Should be a Pulitzer Prize winner!

[BumRushDaShow]

71. Another wild thing was this -

It became a shtick that they did at events.

[wolfie001]

85. Too funny!

My first response glad I deleted it.

[PatSeg]

55. Ha, ha!

It was probably for the best to have forgotten her! Such a bizarre woman and she too did a response to a State of the Union address, though as I recall, hers was not official. Still extremely weird.

[BumRushDaShow]

60. She was like the first generation

of what would be a series of batshit crazy bozos that now include the MTGs and Boeberts of the GOP.

[PatSeg]

62. Yes, I guess she was

When she first appeared on the political scene, I have to say I'd never seen anything quite like her in politics before. Apparently she opened the door for even worse bozos and now Washington is overrun with them.

[BumRushDaShow]

66. She was an original "teabagger" from almost 15 years ago

helping to form a caucus that renamed themselves multiple times to be what they are now - the "Freedumb Caucus".

[PatSeg]

69. Yes, the "teabaggers" were rather quaint

and sometimes a bit amusing compared to what they've morphed into. For some reason politics just invites such people because it gives them so many opportunities to wreak chaos and even become famous in the process.

[rubbersole]

48. All that's missing is that Iowa State Fair 🌽 corn dog...

..she professionally devoured.

[BumRushDaShow]

50. Done. Look up.

[rubbersole]

51. You. Are. Good.

Thanks!

[BumRushDaShow]

53. ...

(the corn dog is always the first thing that comes to mind with her)

[rubbersole]

57. I put a copy of that picture on a bulletin board at the union hall...

...it stayed for 3 months. Most brothers/sisters didn't know who she was before.

[BumRushDaShow]

58. There are some out there that include Rick Perry's attempt as well!

[MuseRider]

88. I had forgotten that! Thanks :-)

I basically remember her hiding in the bushes from gay men. It was the strangest thing I have ever seen.

[peppertree]

87. Another Mk-Ultra fail

It tends to work poorly on Republicans - since they're often already so robotic as it is.

[Wednesdays]

82. Laina Morris, aka "Overly Attached Girlfriend"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overly_Attached_Girlfriend

[Pluvious]

86. Laina's story is actually quite interesting...

She sold her original video as an NFT for almost half a million dollars

She made a "here's my story" video which I found quite fascinating...

[PatSeg]

37. I haven't watched the republican response

It is always a joke. They really need to stop doing them. They are just creating embarrassing sound clips that will be played every year before the State of the Union address. And sometimes, they destroy political careers.

[BumRushDaShow]

42. I think the last one I watched was this

and none since...

[PatSeg]

46. Oh yes, that was so sad

That one and Bobby Jindal's who never recovered from that humiliating response.

I don't have the time or patience to watch these clowns anymore.

[BumRushDaShow]

63. The Jindal tie was like the Rubio water

[PatSeg]

65. That was so sad

I also remember a video he did of him telling his children that he was considering a run for president. It was flat out weird. Some people just aren't cut out for politics.

[prodigitalson]

91. remember his official portrait?

[BumRushDaShow]

92. ....

[LeftInTX]

59. Don't remember a word he said, but the water bottle lives in infamy!

[PatSeg]

67. Ha, ha, ha!

I'll bet he still has nightmares about it and wakes up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. Poor little Marco had dreams of being President one day, but those dreams all went down the drain over a stupid water bottle.

[Old Crank]

5. AI generated response

Probably better than anything else they could have done.
The GOP has no spokeperson with any gravitas left to speak.
Just one clown after another. Anyone with any sense has been exiled.

[Old Crank]

7. Is she hiding bare feet and a baby bump

while behind the kitchen counter, like they did with women on TV in the 50's?

Would fit in with the GOP Governor candidate's views on women.

[peppertree]

33. To say nothing of dark money bribes

She looked like a third-world version of the Stepford Wives.

[hlthe2b]

9. If it were not so damned bizarre, clumsy, and ridiculously "acted"... it would be serial-killer creepy

My gawd... How can one even parody this? It is already a parody of the worst acting ever.

[underpants]

12. It was bizarre

I told my wife and daughter they need to watch it. They are both home today.

[Trueblue Texan]

29. They're both home sick?

Why? Why? WHY did you make them watch it?!

[underpants]

52. No

My wife works from home and my daughter is on spring break.

[liberal N proud]

11. From her kitchen in Alabama

Was she barefoot and pregnant too?

The kitchen setting just made the statement that the woman belongs in the kitchen.

[Trueblue Texan]

30. I'm surprised she wasn't wearing a gingham apron. nt

[returnee]

13. H.L. Mencken...

…is laughing in his grave.

[littlemissmartypants]

22. He sounds awesome!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._L._Mencken

[Trueblue Texan]

32. He sounds like most Trumpers today...

...ready to champion anyone who reinforces his biases and call the rest inferior.

[littlemissmartypants]

39. Hahaha! Exactly!

[FSogol]

14. Oh noes! Someone tried to make her children read books!

All the children of 'Merica are in danger.

[texasfiddler]

16. Boiling rabbit on the stove behind her.

LOL

[magicarpet]

21. People are saying,...

It was kettle full of frogs on a slow boil.

[Wuddles440]

44. You're my winner of...

'Laugh of the Day'! Nicely none!

[rubbersole]

56. Rabbit is on Sunday.

Opossum Thursday 🦥. Vittles at 6pm sharp.

[The Conductor]

18. I saw the beginning...

What a phony attempt to appear homey. And her tone was that of a kindergarten teacher talking to the class just before naptime. She spoke as if even she didn't believe the crap the Rethuglicans are peddling. The cynics there chose her because she was young and a female. They should have concentrated on getting someone competent, like the Democrats have.

This is what happens when you start to believe your own con, and they figured Biden with stumble along and fall asleep halfway through his talk, giving this young nobody an edge. Were they on stage together, she and Biden, she would have appeared to fade into the woodwork.

[atreides1]

24. Well

They didn't want someone competent, they used her because they need a poster girl to show that women are too emotional and can't be trusted with making decisions that don't have to do with kitchen work!

[JHB]

27. "Getting someone competent" assumes they HAVE someone competent

They bred that out of themselves.

[Lonestarblue]

19. If Tuberville and Britt are the best Alabama Republicans have, they need a serious infusion of brains in their party.

[littlemissmartypants]

23. ❤️

[Trueblue Texan]

28. My thoughts EXACTLY!!!

My daughter was "THE" actress in all her high school plays, went on to study in NYC. Britt's performance reminded me of so many of my daughter's earliest dramatic performances--really good for a jr. high aspiring actress, but she'd never have made through auditions in high school. Don't worry, Ms. Britt, somewhere there is a vehicle out there for your talents.

[Wednesdays]

75. The 700 Club?

[Trueblue Texan]

80. Oh, she'd be PERFECT for that! nt

[Hekate]

31. I don't think the GOP was aiming for hilarity, but that's what they delivered...

We watched Senator Stepford Wife wih the sound off, and I read the comments here.. Looks like Rolling Stone was on exactly the same wavelength as DU.

[3catwoman3]

35. I found myself wondering where she had gone to drama school.

And choosing someone as inexperienced as she is in politics to try to rebut Joltin’ Joe seems like the definition of folly.

[niyad]

41. As an aside: had not heard of asmr before, so I had to look it up. Is this

an actual "thing"??? Responses to. .turning pages slowly? 13 million asmr videos?? WTAF???

Could somebody here explain it in a way that does not sound like total nonsense, or proof that someone has wayyyyyy too much time on their hands? Thanks in advance.

[Ursus Rex]

72. People are seeking some kind of reassurance, is my guess.

It's calm, deliberate, and relaxing (at least to the fans of that stuff). I regard it in much the same vein as those "unboxing" videos. I'm not so much a fan of the genre as whole, but I did like this one where the presenter unpacks, cleans, and puts away her groceries into storage containers and then into the fridge.

[niyad]

73. Did you forget the sarcasm thingie?

[Wednesdays]

81. Just imagine this as a political speech...

[madaboutharry]

45. I posted last night that SNL has to get Scarlett Johansson on the phone right now....

I can see it already. It will go down as one of the most epic moments in SNL history. They have to do it.

[DemocraticPatriot]

79. Even a professional actress will have difficulty in equaling the amount of

over-dramatization we witnessed last night with #whinyKatie

We should all send her a box of kleenex to her Senate office. She appeared to be someone who should always keep a box or two close at hand!

[Susan Calvin]

47. Well I guess I'm going to have to watch the thing.

I turned off the TV as soon as Biden wrapped up his speech, but I do have the rebuttal recorded. I'd be interested in anybody's opinion as to whether I should spend my time watching it.

[pnwmom]

94. You don't have to watch the whole thing. Ten minutes will give you the idea.

But as you watch it, imagine millions of R's squirming, knowing how ridiculous she looked.

[catbyte]

54. My favorite response from that tiger droppings site:

"Pretty.
But she has the abandoned pet commercial voice.
We coulda don better as Rs."

Perfect. She was "pretty" and then there was the requisite typo.

[cstanleytech]

64. Maybe we should send her thank you cards for her help?

LOL

[IronLionZion]

70. Trying to get the mom vote?

She was working herself up so much over how awful everything is in America, that I thought she might burst into tears.

I am better off now than 4 years ago by every measure.

[DemocraticPatriot]

74. We should ALL send whiny Katie Britt a box of kleenex!

I was afraid she was about to burst into tears, over her false tale of a failed America....


It was pathetic.

[Mira]

76. She reminded me of the commercials

where whiny sadness asks for contributions to help lost or tied-up dogs left out in the cold. Or at least a person auditioning for the part.

[louis-t]

77. The 3 seconds of it I watched reminded me of

those commercials for ASPCA where the narrator uses a whiny voice to get you to donate to abused animals.

[Mira]

78. She reminded me strongly of the commercials

where whiny sadness asks for contributions to help lost or tied-up dogs left out in the cold. Or at least a person auditioning for the part.

[Martin68]

83. The Republican Party is entirely dysfunctional.

[PortTack]

89. OMG!! You guys with the eye pics...nailed it

[Ziggysmom]

90. It was like Forrest Gump's mother splainin stuff ta y'all, with Mommie Dearest undertones.