“Lie, you lie”: Rep. Joe Wilson brings disrespect full circle
We’ve been told that the “anger” at rallies and town halls are just Americans who are fed up with government. We’ve been told that the “outcry” against the President’s plans to encourage school children were parents who didn’t want their kids subject to a partisan message. Nothing disrespectful and that any other President hasn’t had to endure….right? And now there is Joe Wilson.
Yes Representative Joe Wilson a.k.a. Addison Graves Wilson, Sr. R-South Carolina did something I didn’t even think the GOP would stoop to last night when he called the President a “lie” during his his speech to a joint session of Congress. It happened after the President said that his health plan would not cover illegal immigrants.
So now we’ll here how this is an isolated incident. To their credit, Republicans who have been asked about Wilson’s outburst have been critical and called upon him to apologize, which he did. But this is bigger than Wilson. This is about GOP leadership allowing their base to drum up hate speech. It’s about not calling out members who make up their own facts and fan the flames of bias and racism. This is more about the Republican Party than it is about Joe Wilson.
Rep. Joe Wilson (center) - Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
There is a school of thought that says Wilson’s outburst was premeditated. CNN.com reports a post on Wilson’s Twitter account that mentions the President’s healthcare plan: “Happy Labor Day! Wonderful parade at Chapin, many people called out to oppose Obamacare which I assured them would be relayed tomorrow to DC,” the tweet from Wilson’s account said (CNN).
The backlash has been swift, especially from his own state where he’s been called out by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R) and House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (D). This is not good for a guy who barely won his seat in ’08, is up for reelection next year, and is now making it tough on a family member how just launched a campaign. This is from CQ Politics:
Wilson’s son, Alan Wilson, launched a bid Tuesday for state attorney general.
And Wilson himself is facing the possibility of a credible rematch of his narrow 2008 victory over Marine Corps veteran and Democrat Rob Miller, which Wilson won with 53.7 percent of the vote.
Miller received a flood of online donations in the hour after the speech, according to Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee officials, with one estimate pegging the number of contributions at more than 200.
I agree with Rep. Clyburn, Wilson should follow up to the call he made to Rahm Emanuel apologize to the President face-to-face. The actions by Republican lawmakers and ex-politicians are making a mockery of our process. We’re better than this.
