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President Barack Obama will address both chambers of Congress Thursday to unveil his plan to create jobs, but not everyone plans to attend.

Despite buzz that Congress might ring in a new era of bipartisanship by choosing “prom night” seating for the speech — crossing aisle to sit with members of the other party — some Republicans are threatening to boycott the speech altogether. Their reasons range from opposition to what they call a “political speech” to a desire not to miss the first football game of the NFL season.

Having a number of members skip a president’s joint address is not unprecedented, however. The last time was in January 1999, when multiple members — led by Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert — skipped President Bill Clinton’s State of the Union, feeling that is was “disrespectful” to a Congress in the middle of an impeachment process. Rep. William Clay skipped George H. W. Bush’s 1992 address because he didn’t want to deal with long commute home late at night.

In 1971, the Congressional Black Caucus boycotted one of Richard Nixon’s State of the Union addresses because they felt he was ignoring the black community’s needs. Members have missed various joint addresses by foreign dignitaries as well.

To see the GOP members who are not attending his speech, click on the link below:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/08/obama-jobs-speech-republicans_n_953001.html#s352787&title=Sen_Jim_DeMint

Article Courtesy of The Huffington Post

Despite planned “prom night” seating — where congressmen sit with members of the other party — a host of notable Republicans say they will skip President Obama’s job creation speech tonight.

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) and Senators David Vitter (R-La.) and Jim DeMint are just a few of the congressmen who are boycotting the president’s address.

Their reasons for missing range from opposition to what they consider political posturing by Obama, to not wanting to miss the opening night of the football season.

Having a number of members skip a president’s joint address is not unprecedented, however. The last time was in January 1999, when multiple members — led by Speaker of the House Dennis Hassert — skipped President Bill Clinton’s State of the Union, feeling that is was “disrespectful” to a Congress in the middle of an impeachment process.

http://newsone.com/nation/washington-watch/jothomas/top-republicans-boycotting-obamas-job-creation-speech/

Article Courtesy of News One