Instead of focusing on what the President said or how both parties reacted to the 2014 State of the Union Address, I wanted to again pull back the curtain on some of the other happenings in the hallways of the U.S. Capitol, before, during and after the speech.
1. Getting that press release out early
The award for the earliest delivery of a press release with embargoed remarks responding to the President's State of Union Address goes to Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), which arrived in my email inbox at 5:48 pm, over three hours before the Obama speech even began. The Smith quotes in the news release were embargoed until 10 pm Eastern. The lead line: "Congressman Lamar Smith (TX-21) today responded to the President’s comments during the State of the Union Address" - even though no one had seen those remarks at the time. It's probably not a stretch to say that a lot of other Congressional offices - in both parties - had similar emails all set up and ready to go by dinner time as well, but they just waited to hit the 'send' button.
2. Lamar Smith wins the Daily Double
Not only did the office of Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) send out the earliest press release for reaction to the State of the Union Address, but the Texas Republican was also the first member to leave the House chamber to go do TV interviews down the hall, emerging at 9:57 pm. The President's speech didn't end for about another 25 minutes. While Smith won the Gold medal for leaving first to hit the TV cameras waiting in the Old House Chamber in Statuary Hall, Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) was the Silver medalist and Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) took the Bronze. McDermott had been first out of the House Chamber the last two years in order to get a jump on other lawmakers. Why do some members leave early? Well, just a little postgame delay, and you might wait 10-20 minutes just to do a quick two minute interview.
3. Politics takes over the speech guest list
Every member of Congress gets one ticket for a guest to the State of the Union. Some lawmakers bring their spouse, others might hand it over to a friend. But in recent years, the tickets are being doled out by members of both parties in an effort to send a political message or to attract some star power. Democrats brought people helped by the health law. Republicans brought people who say they've been hurt by the health law. Democrats invited people who had lost their long term jobless benefits. Several GOP members seemed to be inviting the same guy from Duck Dynasty. Some guy named Hannity was there. My email inbox was overflowing with notices, many trying to send a political message on the President's speech. Some of the longer serving members brought their wives as their guest, and said they wouldn't think of bringing anyone else. Maybe the bottom line is that this isn't my father's State of the Union anymore.
4. A new Twitter champion for State of the Union
The competition for most controversial tweet was over before the President's speech even began, as Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX) sent out the following: "On floor of house waiting on "Kommandant-In-Chef" ... the Socialistic dictator who's been feeding US a line or is it "A-Lying?"
Of the reported 750 tweets sent by members during the speech, that one generated the most chatter by far. If you had no idea that Weber was a Congressman before last night, you do now, and Weber's Facebook page exploded with responses - most of them overwhelmingly negative.
"You're tweets make you sound like a middle school punk, except you aren't in middle school," one wrote.
5. Postgame reaction: "I'll break you in half"
Rep. Weber wasn't the only lawmaker making news last night, as Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY) physically tangled with a journalist after the speech, as video showed him seemingly threatening to beat the living daylights out of a New York TV reporter for asking a question that the Congressman did not appreciate.
"You're not a man," Grimm yelled after reporter Mike Scotto ended his report by noting that Grimm had not answered a non-State of the Union question about allegations of campaign finance problems that have been leveled against the New York Republican.
"I could break you in half," Grimm is heard saying to Scotto, as the former FBI agent gets in Scotto's face.
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