To call the very large State of the Union (SOTU) watching party at the Hawk 'n' Dove last night an experience would be putting it lightly -- that is if you could hear what I was saying to you.

The event, held by conservative organization Young Conservatives Coalition (YCC) in the upstairs segment of the historic Capitol Hill bar, had 80 to 100 of Washington's young right-of-center movers and shakers.

Coming in to the affair, one maybe expected a little bit of heckling to the various TV's about the room as President Obama took the podium and began his second SOTU address. I, myself, expected a full onslaught
of Mystery Science Theater 3000-like jibes or at least the two old Muppets, Statler & Waldorf, from the balcony.

The problem, however, lay in the fact that none of these so-called future youths even cared to listen to the President's speech.

From the moment he began talking -- to the moment the GOP response was played -- the entire room kept on rambling. With repeated attempts from the organizers of the event to get the room to silence, it was obvious the folks who attended the YCC function cared not for what was said, they were just there for the two-dollar PBR.

This all got really interesting when the GOP response started, as the room came to an eerie silence and everyone became fixated on Congressman Paul Ryan's (R-WI) ears. Not much of what he said passed contextually to those who listened, however, as no one in the room had actually heard the SOTU address.

Which begs the question: if the 289 Republicans of Congress can sit and respectfully listen to a speech they may or may not agree with, why can't a hundred-or-so conservative 20-somethings?

Perhaps it was all the pretty interns; perhaps it was the delicious PBR (which was yummy).

All I know is that, as I left the upstairs mid-speech, the rest of the Hawk 'n' Dove bar listened in to what the conservatives -- at the upstairs watch party -- had tuned out.