Please read the “ground rules” listed below before posting at least 3 contributions to our discussion. (Note, you may contribute more if you'd like. Remember, if you choose not to join us live, there are many opportunities to contribute to our discussion after watching/reading the President’s Address, the Democratic Party Response, and the ensuing political/media fallout in other ways: online video clips, online news/media analysis, print articles, twitter feeds, etc. Tonight’s State of the Union Address : January 30th at 7PM on every TV and cable news network; it’ll be streaming online on YouTube, news network, and the Whitehouse.gov websites. In short, it's hard to miss. Discussion Ground Rules: Keep all comments related to the materials associated with rhetoric and its effectiveness avoid attacking/discussing the political viewpoints or personalities unless it's genuinely relevant. Abide by all behavioral expectations as a real-life classroom....
Many democratic members are wearing black in support of the Times Up campaign. There were also many who did not rise or applaud when the president first entered the chamber in a sign of protest.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if President Trump began his speech by giving examples of the heroics and brave acts of numerous Citizens in order to get the democratic members to stop their protest and clap for the brave citizens.
DeleteThe democrats when he mentioned african-american wages increasing looked stagnant and very annoyed. They're also wearing the same scarf around their necks.
ReplyDeleteMany of the Democratic faces are stoic and unemotional through the bouts of applause. They seem, well, a bit unhappy about it.
ReplyDeleteYou can see the obvious divide in the room when all of the Republicans stand to applaud Trump, while the other half of the room remains sitting and motionless.
ReplyDelete"We enacted the greatest tax cuts and reform in history..." You can see many of the democrats sitting down, obviously not in support of this supply-side reform.
ReplyDeleteWith reasonable evidence backing up their beliefs that tax cuts are not the wisest decision in this economy, looking at the tax cuts that contributed to the Great Depression and the tax cuts that occurred before the Recession, beginning in George W. Bush's administration.
DeleteFor many of the things that trump says the democrats are sitting down and although not fully agreeing with what he is saying some will clap while sitting to show a little support. Some of them look really uncomfortable during certain parts of his speech when they don't agree or think his idea will work.
ReplyDeleteWhen watching the speech, is quite obviously to tell who the Democrats are. At one point, the camera is behind Trump, looking out on the crowd. There’s a section of people standing and clapping for him, but another section that’s sitting in silence. I’ve also noticed that many of the women in this section are wearing black, in support of the #metoo and #timesup movement.
ReplyDeleteIn a shot of the democratic side during the applause, I saw Nancy Pelosi clapping. However, the democrats around her were not. She is the minority leader of the House of Representatives and is showing at least a slight amount of support for what President Trump I saying. Will her apparent willingness to listen and cooperate spread to other democrats during the speech?
ReplyDeleteDemocrats are checking their phones during Trump’s address (NBC camera angle). Interesting to see the bipartisan moods showing. This helps the media portray how the clashing views of both parties make it difficult to promote unity throughout the country. Alludes to our country’s deeply rooted political conflict.
ReplyDeleteHow common is that for opposing parties? Did any of the republicans do the same thing when Obama was in office?
DeleteThey're obviously doing it to show how they do not respect our current president at all. It almost seems childish to me, unprofessional altogether.
Each time the camera shows a standing ovation, it shows the clear difference between the Democratic and Republican response to President Trump's claims. Democratic Congress members usually choose to take a seat and not join in the applause, using a silent form of rhetoric. Whether each individual stands to applause is an indication of the congressman or congresswoman's opinion on policy without a spoken response.
ReplyDeleteThe democrats stood up when he talked about vocational schools for workers!
ReplyDeleteThe democrats do seem willing to show support in some instances
ReplyDeleteHe's constantly passive-aggressively gesturing at the democrats. Like when he began talking about immigration.
ReplyDeleteThe democratic party does not seem to happy to support their president. The cameras often land on them as republicans are clapping to emphasize the differences between them. As Trump tells about his accomplishments some of the members of the democratic party rise in support, but most remain seated. The tone of the party seems negative and passive aggressive. Some of the democratics seem to be more sluggish in their chairs, while republicans seem to be sitting up straight.
ReplyDeleteThe democrats are fleeing from the chamber very promptly. Really summarizes the tension in the room.
ReplyDeleteKennedy uses descriptive language to, if you will, paint a mental picture of the future that he envisions for America. An example of this includes, “roads that won’t rust away”. By using imagery, he is able to incorporate pathos into his argument, therefore evoking emotions of hope and positivity towards the future Kennedy envisions and describes. Both Trump and Kennedy instilled effective means of rhetoric in their speeches, though differing completely in content and political perspective.
ReplyDeleteDuring Kennedy’s speech, I noticed that he used more general terms and topics. I presume that he did this in order to attempt to get more unification between parties than the President did.
ReplyDelete