He has apologized. He told the president he was sorry.
So we should just move on from South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson and deal with the real problems that affect this nation. We ought to chalk it up to boys behaving badly or gas or maybe Tourette’s Syndrome.
But no, while some would just seek to sweep it under the rug, something happened during President Barack Obama’s address on health care reform before a joint session of Congress that should not be countenanced, and should not be ignored.
No, this isn’t like Britain’s Parliament where fistfights ensue, or scenes from other representative bodies around the world where fighting is almost as prevalent as voting. Supposedly, the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate are places of great decorum, where gentlemen and ladies carry out the business of creating legislation for this country and always at least give the impression that they can stand each other.
That decorum has certainly been tested over the years, with tempers rising almost as fast as the deficit, and caucuses at each other’s throats. But Wilson’s outburst, screaming "You lie!" at President Obama when he said unequivocally that illegal immigrants would not get free health care under the proposed health care reform legislation, crosses a line.
It is one thing to call the President of the United States a liar. We certainly have been presented with presidents who lie – the last two in particular.
But even though they were serial prevaricators ("I did not have sex with that woman." "We found the weapons of mass destruction."), no one screamed at them during a joint session of Congress and called them out.
It is indicative of a nation that regards anyone who disagrees with a particular point of view as not just wrong, but evil. Persons who take an opposing point of view are considered the enemy, and an enemy that needs to not just be defeated, but destroyed.
House Democrats succeed in passing a resolution rebuking Wilson, for "breach of decorum and degraded the proceedings of the joint session, to the discredit of the House."
Some argue that continuing to mention Wilson only makes him a hero to that not-sosilent minority that is the Republican Party.
They point to the fact that Wilson’s outburst received almost as many headlines as Obama’s masterful speech.
They note that Wilson has raised a ton of campaign money in the week since the speech, as people are flocking to support him.
But we cannot simply ignore that kind of breach. There is no excuse for that kind of behavior, and we’re glad to see Congress set and enforce standards. What’s next, will someone throw a shoe at the president?
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