Kay Bailey Hutchison is no longer in the Senate, and she's now sounding off on what annoyed her during her time in Congress.
During a discussion on immigration reform on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday, host Candy Crowley said the issue is much more likely to be well-received during this year's State of the Union address, in light of bipartisan efforts on legislation. In the past, Crowley said, Republican lawmakers would have been more likely to stay silent if President Barack Obama brought up the matter.
Hutchison, a former Republican senator from Texas, then interjected, saying she was not going to miss the game of standing up and sitting down to applaud during the address.
"One of the best things about not being in the Senate anymore is not having to sit in that room and either stand up and clap every 15 seconds, or sit on your hands for the whole thing," said Hutchison, who retired from the Senate last year. "I just wish so much we would have a moratorium on standing, and let everybody listen like the people outside [in] the country are."
Tracking which of the president's lines get the biggest applause -- and how many times lawmakers stand up to clap -- is always a big part of State of the Union analysis and coverage.
Occasionally, the reactions from Congress can overshadow what the president says. When the president made a special health care speech to Congress in 2009, Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) attracted significant attention when he shouted out "You lie!" during Obama's comments about health care.
Correction: This piece originally said that Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) made his "You lie!" outburst during President Barack Obama's 2009 State of the Union address. He made it during Obama's 2009 special health care speech to Congress.
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