Approved Insults for Congressmen to Use when Referring to the Executive Branch

[xavier fremboe]

House guidelines for Presidential put-downs
House Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise Slaughter (D-NY) has released a helpful, updated primer for members regarding their conduct on the floor and in committees.

Especially useful: The section on how to properly insult the executive branch in the in the chamber.

"Disgrace" and "nitwits" -- okay.

"Liar" or "sexual misconduct" -- ixnay.

Under section 370 of the House Rules and Manual it has been held that a Member could:

• refer to the government as “something hated, something oppressive.”
• refer to the President as “using legislative or judicial pork.”
• refer to a Presidential message as a “disgrace to the country.”
• refer to unnamed officials as “our half-baked nitwits handling foreign affairs.”

Likewise, it has been held that a member could not:

• call the President a “liar.”
• call the President a “hypocrite.”
• describe the President’s veto of a bill as “cowardly.”
• charge that the President has been “intellectually dishonest.”
• refer to the President as “giving aid and comfort to the enemy.”
• refer to alleged “sexual misconduct on the President’s part.”

Nothing about saying anything about referring to named officials as "our half-baked nitwits handling domestic affairs."

I swear you can't make stuff like this up.  The entire text is here...

http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0909/House_guidelines_for_Presidential_putdowns.html

[AZRedhawk44]

So... what happens if you call the President a Liar?

Do you lose your seat or face some actual punishment?  Don't tell me that Congress is actually beholden to rules they really enforce... :rolleyes:

[longeyes]

Is "statist overlord" on the list?

[red headed stranger]

Wow.  the war on the English language continues.

Being a lair or committing sexual misconduct can be objectively proven. 

Being a disgrace or a nitwit is far more subjective. 

[Perd Hapley]

"You lie" is not an insult, it is a racial slur.



But seriously, it is not an insult.  It is an accusation.

[Jim147]

If his name was Dumass instead of Obama this wouldn't be a problem.

jim

[Perd Hapley]

His middle name is the surname of a notorious and cruel dictator, why not just call him that? 

Oh, wait, never mind. 

[Harold Tuttle]

when can we toss loafers?

[HankB]

Next time, Republicans can just shout "Joe Wilson!!!"

It's not prohibited by the rules yet, and people will get the message. 

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

Does anyone else find it disconcerting that freedom of speech isn't permitted on the floor of the United States Congress?

[xavier fremboe]

Actually, in doing a little more research, it appears that they might be able to censure a member of Congress for what they say, but there's little else they can do.  Am I misinterpreting this?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congressional_immunity

The Speech or Debate Clause (found in Article I, Section 6, Clause 1) is a clause in the United States Constitution which states that members of both Houses of Congress
“   ...shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony, and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their attendance at the Session of their Respective Houses, and in going to and from the same, and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.

[taurusowner]

His middle name is the surname of a notorious and cruel dictator, why not just call him that? 

Oh, wait, never mind. 

We're not even permitted to use his real middle name here on APS.

[charby]

We're not even permitted to use his real middle name here on APS.

Don't be a DB

[taurusowner]

How is stating a simple unemotional fact being a DB?  It is a fact that moderators have warned and disciplined members for using Obama's full given name.  His name is what it is.  I didn't name him.  I don't understand how simply referring to him by his full name is being a DB.  Especially considering referring to George W. Bush as "dubya" is fair game.

[AZRedhawk44]

What's a DB?

And why can't we refer to Barack Hussein Obama by his full name? 

There's nothing in the Politics forum sticky about any of that.

Coincidentally, the spellchecker in Firefox says that the only component of his name spelled correctly is "Hussein."  I get red squiggly underlines under Barack Obama, but not under Hussein.

Nicknames... McStain, Hitlery, George W Fistful, etc....

OK, I'm getting kind of sick of seeing otherwise intelligent people stoop to the level of small children on the playground and resorting to name calling for candidates/politicians they don't like.

Henceforth, you have one choice -- use the individual's proper name, or don't use it at all.

In the future posters who resort to this sort of childish behavior will have their messages deleted.

Multiple occurences may result in a poster being suspended or banned.

This is, after all, the Armed POLITE Society, and there's nothing polite in this sort of infantile behavior.

[CNYCacher]

What's a DB?

[AZRedhawk44]

It is a fact that moderators have warned and disciplined members for using Obama's full given name.

Well, a day has gone by and I haven't been mysteriously smited by a GodRod or otherwise had my question about using Obama's full name answered for a yea or nay.

Evidently an APS urban myth regarding Obama's middle name.

May have been a contextual issue with deliberate race/religion baiting, is my guess.

[Zardozimo Oprah Bannedalas]

It is a fact that moderators have warned and disciplined members for using Obama's full given name.

I think you mean his middle name? Referring to the guy as "President Hussein" or similar?

[Jamisjockey]

We're not even permitted to use his real middle name here on APS.

I'm assuming that is sarcasm.  BHO, Barry, Obama have all been used and tolerated in this forum. 

How is stating a simple unemotional fact being a DB?  It is a fact that moderators have warned and disciplined members for using Obama's full given name.  His name is what it is.  I didn't name him.  I don't understand how simply referring to him by his full name is being a DB.  Especially considering referring to George W. Bush as "dubya" is fair game.

Is it?  Got a link to said post? 

[taurusowner]

I personally got told during the election season by a moderator who will remain unnamed that my continued use of "Barrack Hussein Obama" would result in a suspension/banning from APS.

[HankB]

I personally got told during the election season by a moderator who will remain unnamed that my continued use of "Barrack Hussein Obama" would result in a suspension/banning from APS.

Was that before or after Barack Hussein Obama took his oath of office using his full name?

Would the use of other politicians's full names also be discouraged? (So long, William Henry Harrison, John Quincy Adams, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, James Earl Carter, William Jefferson Clinton, Harry S. Truman, and a few others.)