Tripartisanship

[ClydeR]

Forget about bipartisanship. Now it's tripartisanship. There will be two responses to Obama's state of the union speech. First, Republican Representative Paul Ryan from Wisconsin will give the Republican response. Then, Republican Representative Michelle Bachmann from Minnesota will give the Tea Party response.


Republican congressional leaders say they have no problem with Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann giving a response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday night. But they point out she’s not delivering the party’s official reaction.

That privilege was given to Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, one of Congress’s biggest budget hawks. House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Mr. Ryan on Friday, and hours later, Ms. Bachmann, a favorite of the tea party crowd, said she would give her own response, live-streamed on the Tea Party Express website.

More... (http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2011/01/24/gop-leaders-bachmanns-speech-is-not-the-partys-response/)

There are two responses because Bachmann is speaking for the Tea Party instead of the Republican Party.

Earlier they tried to talk Chris Christie into giving the Republican response, but he declined (http://blog.nj.com/njv_auditor/2011/01/gov_chris_christie_declines_to.html).

[ClydeR]

The very fact that there will be two GOP responses -- an official one by Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan and a tea party-flavored one by Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann -- means that it's worth staying tuned in after Obama finishes. (CNN announced plans Monday night to carry the Ryan and Bachmann's speeches in their entirety!)

More... (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/morning-fix/morning-fix-34.html)

This is great news from CNN! So far, CNN is the only one to carry Bachmann's response. Fox News and MSNBC are only carrying Ryan's speech. It's only fair to give equal time.

The announcement by CNN upset some Republicans, but I think it's a good idea.

[Cephalopod]

CNN likes Bachmann. (http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2011/01/25/kth-bachmann-flubs-history/?iref=allsearch)

[ClydeR]

Bachmann's response was better than Ryan's. Ryan talked and talked without ever recommending or proposing anything. Bachmann made actual recommendations.