COLE: Lamborn's AWOL stunt a really desperate plea for attention
On Tuesday, Rep. Doug Lamborn boycotted President Obama’s State of the Union Address, but insisted that he “respect[s] him and the office.”
Now if only Lamborn would show some respect for Article II, Section 3 of the United States Constitution, which mandates that the president “shall from time to time give to Congress information of the State of the Union and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.”
After supporting the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012, which provides for the indefinite detention of American citizens without trial, snubbing Article II, Section 3 must not have felt like a big deal.
OK, maybe I’m going for cheap laughs at Lamborn’s expense. But that seems like a fitting response to Lamborn’s going for cheap political points at the expense of hoary tradition.
It’s not that I blame Lamborn for wanting to skip the stream of clichés and the predictable applause that characterize this speech.
I could have appreciated a press release that said, “The State of the Union was a more meaningful exercise in the years before 1913, when presidents submitted written reports instead of delivering speeches. This year, I have decided that it would better serve my constituents if I stayed home and read ‘The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.’”
But Lamborn didn’t spend the night reading. Instead, as the star of Heritage Action’s 2012 State of the Union Live Chat, he watched the speech on television and generated his own stream of clichés online.
Lamborn opened the chat by proclaiming, “I will continue to stand for conservative principles.” His next comment was “I hope I do not hear a campaign speech [from the president].” Then, after an hour of standing for conservative principles, he finally resolved, “I will continue to fight for policies that reflect conservative principles.”
If there’s anything more inane than a campaign speech, it’s a campaign chat.
Lamborn’s stunt had a single goal: to stimulate his base here at home, where so many constituents despise President Obama. The boycott did nothing to advance the conservative cause nationally.
Republicans love anti-Obama rhetoric, but when it becomes a substitute for the constructive ideas that attract swing voters to the GOP, the self-gratification becomes self-defeating.
To be fair, Lamborn is not completely devoid of ideas. He recently introduced the Budget Before Borrowing Act of 2012, which would require Congress to pass a budget before raising the debt ceiling. It’s a commendable suggestion with zero chance of becoming law, because if senators were willing to vote for a bill that would require them to pass a budget, it wouldn’t be necessary.
Yet even his commendable ideas are relatively uninspired. Lamborn’s constituents don’t get to read banner headlines about their congressman’s detailed plan to overhaul the nation’s spending (Rep. Paul Ryan). They don’t get to turn on their television and watch their hometown hero threaten to cut a trillion dollars from the budget (Rep. Ron Paul).
Instead, we get glossy fliers, mailed at federal expense and delivered straight to the kitchen trashcan. And now that he has a primary challenger in businessman Robert Blaha, we get to see Lamborn make a really desperate plea for attention by not showing up to work.
The title “Representative” comes with access to an immense audience, and everyone who watches the news or reads the paper is sitting in the front row. Our district, one of the country’s most conservative, deserves a congressman capable of seizing center stage.
The biggest problem with Lamborn’s boycott was that, outside of Colorado Springs, nobody knew he was missing.
Daniel Cole is a regular opinion columnist for The Gazette. He teaches high school English and is a translator.
