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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