Joe Wilson Denounced By Lawmakers On Both Sides Of Aisle

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama accepted a South Carolina Republican's apology for shouting, "You lie!" during his speech to Congress, and House Democratic leaders showed no interest in sanctions against Rep. Joe Wilson.

Obama said Thursday that Wilson apologized "quickly and without equivocation" and the congressman told reporters the shout-out was "spontaneous."

"We all make mistakes," Obama told reporters, a day after Wilson stunned the president and his colleagues with his outburst.

Infuriated Democrats briefly considered sanctioning the four-term congressman, but decided early Thursday that doing so might distract lawmakers from getting an agreement to overhaul health insurance.

"It's time for us to talk about health care, not Mr. Wilson," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

Wilson's behavior generated plenty of talk.

He erupted after Obama stated that his health care overhaul would not "insure illegal immigrants."

"You lie!" Wilson shouted from his seat.

The House version of the health care bill explicitly prohibits spending any federal money to help illegal immigrants get health care coverage. The bill's exact language: "Nothing in this subtitle shall allow federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully in the United States."

But Wilson is far from alone in thinking that the prohibition in the House bill doesn't go far enough. For him and other Republicans, the problem is not what's in the bill, it's what the bill leaves out – namely a provision to enforce the no-illegals rule.

In the chamber at that moment, a stunned and angry Pelosi opted not to gavel down Wilson on the spot. Obama, she said, was right to pitch right back into his speech and not "give it any more attention than it deserved."

"It was spontaneous," Wilson said Thursday. "It was when he (Obama) stated, as he did, about not (health care insurance) not covering illegal aliens ... We need to discuss the issues and I'm happy to do that."

Wilson told reporters he called the White House at the urging of senior Republicans and was grateful to have talked with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. Wilson said he agreed with the White House' interest in pursuing "a civil conversation" on health care.

The reaction to Wilson's outburst, nevertheless, was punishing – even without the specter of official House action.

His Web site crashed, he took a beating on Twitter as Republicans and Democrats alike condemned his behavior.

Wilson bolted the chamber as soon as Obama was finished speaking. Shortly thereafter, he issued an apology and called the White House to deliver one to the president personally. But he ended up on the line with Rahm Emanuel, Obama's fiery chief of staff, instead.

"This evening I let my emotions get the best of me," he said in a statement. "While I disagree with the president's statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable. I extend sincere apologies to the president for this lack of civility."

The morning talk shows were mere hours away.

"I was embarrassed for the chamber and a Congress I love," Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday on ABC's "Good Morning America." "It demeaned the institution."

A visiting House chaplain, the Very Rev. George L.W. Werner, opened Thursday's session with this invocation: "Gracious God, we meet in a challenging moment of your history. We cannot control all that may endanger us, but we can choose our behavior and the example we set as leaders."

Back on Wilson's home turf, the uproar turned into a boon for Democrat Rob Miller, his opponent in next year's midterm elections.

In the first 24 hours after Wilson's outburst, Miller's campaign coffers swelled by $200,000, according to Jessica Santillo of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. The contribution, she said, came in from 5,000 individual contributions.

___

Associated Press writers David Espo and Ben Evans in Washington and Jim Davenport in Columbia, S.C., contributed to this report.

Comments

[ladyoftheisland]

08:09 AM on 09/14/2009

Someone explain why the right doesn't want nationalized health care given that it would break the unions (a year ago all we were hearing about was the cost of benefits to auto workers); aren't these the same people - they are - always protesting - and I agree - the extreme cost of health insurance in municipal and state budgets?

Is this all about putting a gaggle of lobbyists out of business becasue they'll just take on another cause. Lets not worry about lobbyist unemployment.

[Arrech]

01:27 AM on 09/14/2009

The real lies of President Obama:

8. Finally the president said that one reason the nation has such record deficits is that during the prior administration, so many initiatives, "including the Iraq War," were set in motion but "not paid for," and he vowed, "I will not make that same mistake with health care." But he is doing the same thing with supplemental war funding requests for his war in Afghanistan, and with the continued war and occupation in Iraq, and someone should have called him on that. Besides, there's no way that the program he is proposing will be paid for by current funding. It will add to the deficit and he should have the courage to admit it, or to call for more taxes on the wealthy to pay for it. A lusty "Tax the rich!" cry in unison from the progressive caucus would have been appreciated by viewers.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/09/12-10

[okalyddude]

02:23 AM on 09/14/2009

Thank you for being an independent thinker who's willing to actually take the arguments a step further.

Unfortunately, the answer to all your posed questions is merely "It's political"

I'm sure Obama would love to provide abortions under the plan. In fact, it seems irrational and illegal to NOT provide them, as they are a medical service requested (and sometimes required) by many women. It's sexist and wrong to say that they don't apply to this. But does he make such a clear distinction? Same reason he had to laughingly denounce decriminalization of marijuana, even though it would save the economy and lots of harmless people from going to jail: it's political.

You can't go too far, because then the reactionary right would go EVEN FURTHER with their scare tactics and stir up even more people. Granted, they are the minority, and Obama should be doing what's best for everyone regardless of what conservatives think. But it's one step at a time, and we have a long way to go.

And yes, Kucinich and others need to stand up for single payer. It's the only ACTUAL way to have real health reform. Clearly the insurance industry has spent enough money on Baucus and Obama that they will not allow a system that would bankrupt them (even though they deserve it, they are pure evil and make a fortune off of watching people die)

[Arrech]

01:24 AM on 09/14/2009

The real lies of President Obama:

6. Turning to the pathetically circumscribed and downsized "public option" in his "reform" plan, Obama declared that "a strong majority of Americans still favor a public insurance option." Well that may be true, but it's not the whole truth. It would have been a great moment for Kucinich or Conyers or some other progressive member of Congress to shout out: "A majority also favors a single-payer plan!"

7. And where the defenders of women's rights, when Obama vowed that under his plan, "no federal funds would be used to fund abortions?" Couldn't someone have shouted out, "Women have rights too!" Is the president really saying that if a woman is raped, or a child gets pregnant through incest, or if a woman's life is at risk because of a pregnancy, that his public plan will not pay for her to obtain an abortion? Cries of "For shame!" should have been ringing through the hall!

To be continued...

[Arrech]

01:21 AM on 09/14/2009

The real lies of President Obama:

4. The president insisted that insurance executives don't "cherry-pick" profitable customers and push out those who are sickest, because they are "bad people." He said they are just doing it because it's profitable. It would have been nice if at least someone in the assembled throng of lobbiest-enthralled House and Senate members had shouted out something like "Just like bank robbers and drug dealers!" because the truth is that health insurance executives A R E bad people. They know that they are kil ling people every day through their ruthless policies, and they go right ahead and do it. Pursuit of profit does not, or at least should not, constitute a license to k ill. (Just imagine a hit man, at his sentencing hearing, telling the judge, "I'm not a bad person, Your Honor. I just knock people off because it's profitable.")

To be continued...

[Arrech]

01:18 AM on 09/14/2009

The real lies of President Obama:

5. The president said he was "not trying to put the insurance industry out of business," and added, "They provide a legitimate service." This line, not surprisingly, given the amount of money that industry has lavished on members of Congress and on the president himself, got what was probably the loudest bi-partisan applause of the night. But it surely led to a lot of groans and of coffee, tea or beer being spewed out involuntarily across carpets and upholstery in homes across America. Legitimate service? Insurance firms are nothing but vampires, or better, leeches on the health care system. They provide no service. Ask doctors, who have to fight to get permission to treat patients, and then fight to get reimbursed. Ask patients, who spend hours on the phone arguing with faceless drones, some probably in Bangalor or Manila, who are denying them coverage for needed medicines or procedures that are supposed to be covered. Listen to the testimony of whistle-blowers who have confirmed that those drones actually get paid bonuses based upon the number of claims they manage to deny. How satisfying it would have been if someone in Congress had yelled out, "Legitimate service my as s!"

To be continued...

[Arrech]

01:16 AM on 09/14/2009

The reallies of President Obama:

4. The president insisted that insurance executives don't "cherry-pick" profitable customers and push out those who are sickest, because they are "bad people." He said they are just doing it because it's profitable. It would have been nice if at least someone in the assembled throng of lobbiest-enthralled House and Senate members had shouted out something like "Just like bank robbers and drug dealers!" because the truth is that health insurance executives ARE bad people. They know that they are killing people every day through their ruthless policies, and they go right ahead and do it. Pursuit of profit does not, or at least should not, constitute a license to kill. (Just imagine a hit man, at his sentencing hearing, telling the judge, "I'm not a bad person, Your Honor. I just knock people off because it's profitable.")

To be continued...

[Arrech]

01:11 AM on 09/14/2009

The real lies of President Obama:

2. Obama said that "nothing else even comes close" to health care expenditures in terms of causing the federal deficit. In fact, something does---the military budget-but that topic is off limits for both Republicans and Democrats. Why couldn't Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold have yelled out, "What about military spending!"

3. Perhaps one of the biggest lies of the night was the president's claim that while there are "arguments to be made" for single-payer systems like Canada's, switching to single-payer in the US would require building "an entirely new system from scratch." The truth: Medicare is already a successful single-payer system and in fact, it is bigger and older than Canada's own nation-wide system. Expanding it to cover every American would not be starting from scratch at all. It would be expanding something already proven. Where were the shouts of "What about Medicare!" from Rep. John Conyers (and his dozens of cosponsors), whose bill, HR 676, to expand Medicare to all has been barred from getting even a hearing by the House leadership with encouragement from the White House?

To be continued....

[Arrech]

01:09 AM on 09/14/2009

The real lies of President Obama:

1. First and foremost, Obama's claim that he was "determined to be the last" president to have to deal with health care reform and that he didn't want to "kick the can" down the street for a future administration to deal with. In fact, that is just what he did with his proposal, which has left the basic untenable system of employee-financed healthcare in place, and which has left the private insurance industry in control of who gets treatment and how much they will have to pay for it. It's a sure bet that before very long-perhaps in just four more years-another president will face the same crisis. A boisterous cat-call of "Can Kicker!" here would have been in order.

To be continued...

[NaturalWonder]

12:42 AM on 09/14/2009

You Lie! Was not that what Frau Hi Brau- lover of DR EVIL yelled out at least once in the Mike Myers movie Austin Powers? You Lie!!!

[NHGranite]

11:22 PM on 09/13/2009

Class! Pure Class! Beyonce Knowles just made me cry. MTV video awards; Taylor Swift won the first award of the night, but got dissed by Kanye West pulling a "Joe You Lie Wilson" when he he rushed the stage and proclaimed Beyonce's video was better and caused a huge interruption. Beyonce just won the best video crowning the evening and after she thanked everyone, she called Taylor out to get her moment in the spotlight. Hey, Joe - that's how it's done. I'm sure you don't mind being compared to Kanye, the spoiled brat

[kankan]

06:01 PM on 09/13/2009

JW is a true representative of the ppl in the district who voted him into office. He spoke his mind, kept his message short, and used simple words and basic tones to delivery his message that rational needed to be taken and proper due diligence must be rendered even for the President of the United States. He cocked his head back and made the conscious decision to blurt out, during a speech from the arch enemy of the Republican Party, who so happened to be an African American, which his isn't going to apologize for under the implications that he may be a racist pig. He seemed sincerely honest and concerned, during the President of the United States speech to Congress, which included him and hundreds of other Congressmen. And where and when better to speak his opinion the matter, much like Twitter and Facebook junkies, when they are presented a statement or picture that is so undauntingly abhorant in ever fashion. Doesn't the Fifth Amendment suppose to protect Americans, like Joel Wilson, to be able to speak freely? Even in front of Congress during a speech by the President of the United States.

[kesmarn]

08:22 PM on 09/13/2009

Criminals tend to "take the the Fifth," my dear, when they're in big trouble. Look it up.

I'm sorry to say that the rest of your post is very close to being completely incomprehensible.

"...rational needed to be taken..."?
"...cocked his head back and made the conscious decision...? What? to break Congressional rules?
"And where and when better to speak his opinion the matter..."? How about NOT right in the middle of someone ELSE's speech, for starters?

It's Joe, not Joel.

[AddyGmom]

08:56 PM on 09/13/2009

And joe is a faux joe.

And kankan is channeling his idols sister sarah and miniscule bachmann.

[JustAThought56]

10:04 PM on 09/13/2009

kankan, there is simply no excuse for shouting out to the President of the United States during a formal address to Congress.

If he is a true representative of the "ppl" from that district, then they are a bunch of lying hypocrites, too.

From the bill:

EC. 152. PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION IN HEALTH CARE.

(a) In General- Except as otherwise explicitly permitted by this Act and by subsequent regulations consistent with this Act, all health care and related services (including insurance coverage and public health activities) covered by this Act shall be provided without regard to personal characteristics extraneous to the provision of high quality health care or related services.

Wilson voted for the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003, which authorized $250,000 annually for government reimbursements to hospitals who provide treatment for uninsured illegal immigrants.

[Ronju01]

11:52 AM on 09/13/2009

This joker is so passionate to stop the Government run Healthcare, while he is in the Government run Veterans Heathcare !!! Rethugs don't see his hypocrisy.

[bluestems]

03:08 AM on 09/13/2009

Wilson is back-pedaling, claiming what he meant was there was "no provisions for enforcing the no-illegals rule."

Yet, anyone who is seeking a subsidized public option must prove they are making under an certain income... now, how is an illegal going to whip out tax filings or pay stubs?

[Observer963]

02:20 AM on 09/13/2009

Sign the letter to support the health care reform bill:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/hcsignonvid/?district=CA48&source=20090912_signon_vid_big
and donate if you can.

[Pretrib]

12:41 AM on 09/13/2009

A source on Rep. Joe Wilson's campaign says his fundraising has broken $1 million -- and surpassed that of his Democratic rival, Rob Miller -- since his outburst of "You lie!" during President Obama's address to Congress Wednesday.

The source said Wilson's current tally is $1,005,021 from 18,859 donations amid a high-profile campaign on the Drudge Report and elsewhere telling conservatives that Wilson is "under attack" for his willingness to take on Obama.

Thanks to all the libs that gave this all the attention!

[Observer963]

02:06 AM on 09/13/2009

Another source on Dem. Miller campaign says he has now received $2M from 30,000 individuals. My proof is right next to yours!

[IDIOTA]

02:15 AM on 09/13/2009

Although money is usually decisive, it is not always. In 1994 Huffington spent a fortune on his senate run and lost. Ollie North spent a bundle that same year and lost. Does the name Mitt Romney ring a bell?

No matter how much national money pours into a local race, the voters of that district decide who gets elected, at least until the Republicans figure out how to steal more votes. Joe Wilson has been trending down in the last few election cycles. Nothing is guaranteed.