A while ago, I floated the idea of Speaker Boehner not inviting President Obama to give his State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress. This, unfortunately, went the way of quite a few of my more inspired ideas. I am more comfortable with the quasi-monarchical aspects of the presidency than some of my colleagues, but the State of the Union address has become a swollen spectacle and this year, of all years, Congress should have pulled the plug on its supporting role in that spectacle.

The State of the Union address has become, as part of a long process that has reached its logical conclusion under President Obama, little more than the centerpiece for a long PR campaign bookended by campaign rallies and interviews with YouTube stars. We won’t hear anything new tonight that hasn’t already been rolled out by the White House, and regardless, it’s all poll-tested and picayune proposals that don’t merit the attention of a nation. It would be a better practice going forward for Congress to invite the president to address a joint session only when there is a significant national event deserving of such an august setting; the State of the Union address no longer constitutes in and of itself such an event.

Then, there is the specific context of this State of the Union, which is the president’s blatant contempt for the role of Congress within our system, exemplified by his executive amnesty. It was always going to be hard for Congress to roll back that amnesty and the attempt to do so seems to be fizzling out as we speak. Which is why some symbolic push-back would have been important. Not inviting the president would have at least have ensured we would still be debating the amnesty, instead of it being already taken as old news and a kind of given. Now, he will use the grand stage provided by Congress and all the trappings that go along with the joint session to defend his trampling of the rule of law, in front of all the people who are supposed to write the laws.

So I wouldn’t have invited him, and hope sometime soon a Speaker of the House will stop extending the invitation (although it will probably have to await a Democratic speaker and a Republican president). The president of the United States has a great advance team and access to all sorts of wonderful and historic settings. Let him figure out where he wants to give an address, if providing the State of the Union in writing isn’t enough. Enough with members of Congress acting like desperate fanboys when the president walks down the aisle. Enough with the ritualistic applause. Enough with Congress providing such a dignified platform for such a fatuous event. If Congress is be respected within our constitutional system, the first step should be having some self-respect. Alas, that day seems far off.

(I’m glad to count John Miller in the anti–joint session camp.)