In 2009, House Democrats took special care to remind members about the proper way to address the president, offering a primer on rules that prohibited Republicans from disparaging President Obama.
Fast forward a decade, and House Democrats are now pushing an official resolution to disparage President Trump as a racist who “legitimized fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color.”
Then House Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise Slaughter released “a helpful, updated primer” for members in August 2009 that reminded Republicans it’s a violation of House rules to describe the president as a “liar” or “hypocrite,” or to describe any veto as “cowardly,” Politico reported at the time.
The friendly reminder also stipulated Republicans could not claim Obama was “intellectually dishonest” or refer to him “giving aid and comfort to the enemy.” Nor could Republicans cite alleged “sexual misconduct on the president’s part,” according to the guidelines.
Those rules seem to no longer apply, with the same House speaker who enforced the policy to protect Obama now endorsing a resolution to antagonize and personally disparage President Trump. – READ MORE