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You’d think this is about decorum.
But the speech itself shows the shift.
“these people are crazy”
— in the chamber
“you should be ashamed of yourselves”
— directed at members
That’s not comparable to tearing up a paper after the speech.
One is post-event protest.
The other is direct, in-speech targeting of the opposing party.
Different layer entirely.
I guess you could be right if we chalk up FDR to threatening his own party.... not exactly a good look though
Franklin D. Roosevelt frequently pressured and threatened members of Congress to support his New Deal legislation, most notably through his failed 1937 "court-packing" plan. He also directly threatened conservative Democratic lawmakers by intervening in primary elections to back liberal challengers, a tactic labeled as a "purge".
Key details regarding FDR's confrontations with Congress:
The 1937 Purge: Following the failure of his court-packing plan, FDR sought to drive conservative Southern Democrats out of the party. He publicly criticized them and supported opponents in their primary races.
Legislative Threats: In his 1938 Jackson Day address, FDR issued a veiled threat, suggesting that conservative Democrats who opposed his progressive agenda had no place in the party.
Political Fallout: While this high-stakes confrontation and public pressure tactic allowed him to win battles regarding New Deal legislation, it caused him to lose significant political support and damaged party harmony.
The 1937 court-packing plan, which aimed to add up to six new Supreme Court justices, was seen as an attempt to compel the judiciary to approve New Deal laws. The proposal was so aggressive that it was rejected by the Senate Judiciary Committee—largely by members of his own party—as a "vicious precedent".
Both sides have long gone after each other in the chambers its why Decorum is really just a dead thing.
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/03/07/bad-behavior-state-of-the-union-00145473
Not on par.
FDR pressure was intra-party + policy leverage.
This week’s SOTU includes direct, in-chamber language at the opposing party:
“these people are crazy”
“you should be ashamed of yourselves”
That’s not procedural pressure or post-speech protest.
That’s explicit, on-the-floor verbal targeting.
I can’t find another SOTU with this kind of direct, in-chamber language at the opposing party. That’s not ‘decorum slipping’. It's the President using the address to demean the opposition on the floor.
Look this isn’t some crazy thing you can get mad at the words but Jackson did threaten to hang people so ya know that’s a little excessive.
Obama did it in his SOTU in 2010 albeit more so by going after the Supreme Court and then Republicans. Biden called MAGA Republicans a threat in a speech before Congress
Good comp bringing up Jackson.
Both reflect a view that civil rights expansions were a threat to white political power.
But the mechanism is different:
Jackson used power aggressively, often behind the scenes.
He didn’t use the State of the Union itself to demean people in the chamber.
That’s the distinction.
Dems threw decorum out the window years ago. There has never been a Speaker of the House tear up the President's speech like Pelosi did but thats not talked about.