GOP should admonish rude behavior during presidential speeches | Victor Ashe

If I did not know better, I would think Northwest Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene was on the payroll of the Biden White House. Her interruption of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech calling him a “liar” only played into Biden’s hands and allowed him to maneuver the entire House of Representatives into standing up together in bipartisan support of Medicare and Social Security.

It was one of Biden’s best performances. It allowed him to appear playfully confident, even having fun, at the expense of far-right Republicans.

Greene was wearing an all-white alpaca coat with fur trim, which helped her to stand out from other women in the House. She is not capable of being embarrassed herself but does not mind embarrassing other Republicans.

Republicans are not the only ones who have diminished the dignity of the State of the Union event, where in my view any President should be politely received. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tore up President Donald Trump’s message in front of the whole country in 2020.

The GOP failure to criticize Greene’s behavior suggests it is acceptable, which is unfortunate.

Imagine here in Tennessee if, when Gov. Bill Lee gave his State of the State Address, a Democratic member had interrupted Lee by calling him a “liar.” No doubt that person would have been ruled out of order and an effort undertaken to censure him. There would have been a huge Republican outrage against this Democrat in contrast to the silence by Republicans that greeted Greene.

There will be a concert for Ukraine’s fight for freedom on Feb. 26 at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Three distinguished Ukrainian musicians will perform 2-3:30 p.m. at the Natalie Haslam School of Music: clarinetist Sergei Vassiliev, pianist Angelina Gadeliya and violinist Solomia Soroka.

Preceding that, from 12:30 to 2, there will be Ukrainian food, crafts and souvenirs. It is part of the “Ready for the World” music series. More information can be found at www.music.utk.edu/rftw, and one can register with a $25 fee.

Ukraine’s fight against Vladimir Putin’s Russia is one that all Americans who back freedom should support. Staying uninvolved is a gift to Putin and his evil designs on Eastern Europe.

Since I wrote about Carrie Castille lasting only eight months as head of the UT Institute of Agriculture, I have learned that Castille’s tenure was brief in part due to strong Tennessee Farm Bureau opposition to many of the initiatives she had begun, and included the departure of several longtime employees. The Farm Bureau actually went on record formally voicing no confidence in Castille’s tenure.

UT spokesperson Tiffany Carpenter said Castille will be “working remotely” after March 1, when Keith Carver assumes the leadership of UTIA. In other words, she no longer occupies an office on campus. But she will still be paid at the rate of $400,000 a year until June 30, 2023. She is from Louisiana.

Some GOP state legislators are considering changing the law governing municipal elections to repeal the requirement for a runoff for mayor or City Council if a candidate does not receive 50% plus one vote in the primary.

In other words, the person with the most votes in the primary wins.

In Knoxville, this would mean Eddie Mannis would have been elected over Indya Kincannon, who came in second, edging out Marshall Stair, who was third. Stair then backed Kincannon in the runoff, where she prevailed.

Longtime city employee (30 plus years) Rick Emmett, who has dealt for years with downtown Knoxville issues, will be honored 4-6 p.m. March 1 with a reception sponsored by the Downtown Alliance at Radius Rooftop Lounge, 507 S. Gay St.

Emmett started working on annexation issues when he first worked for the city. When annexation ended, he transitioned to downtown issues, where he excelled.

Birthdays

Feb. 24: Harry Wade, chair of Agape Outreach Homes, is 82. Joe Bailey, former vice mayor and current staffer for U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty, is 65. UT professor Beauvais Lyons is 65. Former News Sentinel photographer Miles Cary is 76. David Ticehurst is 42. Former U.S. senator and Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Lieberman is 81. Former county trustee candidate Richard Jacobs is 59.

Feb. 25: U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett’s chief of staff Michael Grider is 40. Jennifer Mezick is 39. Thomas Hahn is 85. Wynne Caffey is 59.

Feb. 26: Rev. Charles Fels is 80. Adronicus Thomas is 55. Former city employee Lee Miracle is 78. Businessman Bob Goodfriend is 73. David Valone is 69.

Feb. 27: John Meade is 51.

Feb. 28: Former Knox County court clerk and city police spokesman Foster Arnett is 67. Attorney Ray H. Jenkins is 63. Angela H. Brown is 59. Lorie Matthews is 55.

March 1: General Sessions Judge Tony Stansberry is 66. Dale Wortham is 66. Jeff Wilke is 64. Brian Rivera is 38. Attorney Taylor Forrester is 40. Former county commissioner Bob Thomas is 69.

March 2: Christopher Lambert is 38. Steve Harris is 71. Jim Clayton is 89. Brett Grimm is 56. Keith Lyon, retired police officer and qualified city mayoral candidate, is 50.

Victor Ashe can be reached at vhashe@aol.com.

Knox News and Shopper News promptly correct all errors. If you think we have published incorrect information, please email accuracy@knoxnews.com. Describe the error, where you saw it, the date, page number or the URL.

Victor Ashe is a former Knoxville mayor and former ambassador to Poland. He is a columnist for Shopper News. 

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: GOP should admonish rude behavior during presidential speeches