Conservatives Rally Around Joe Wilson: "Great American Hero"

Most lawmakers condemned Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) for his disruptive behavior Wednesday night -- including Wilson himself. But some on the right think he deserves to be rewarded.

The conservative website RedState.com has declared Wilson a "great American hero" for his actions and launched a fundraising effort for the lawmaker. "He gets a drink on me!" wrote founder Erick Erickson. Republican strategist Patrick Ruffini has also been encouraging Republicans to donate to the congressman.

Rob Miller, Wilson's Democratic opponent, has already raised well over a hundred thousand dollars from the incident.

And The Palmetto Scoop, a conservative publication in South Carolina, is giving away free "I'm With Joe Wilson" t-shirts.

Get HuffPost Politics On Facebook and Twitter!

Comments

[AlaskanWannaB]

$788,000+ and climbing. Yippeeeee! Folks, keep the money coming in support of Rob Miller and against CongressIdiot Joe "You LIe" Wilson!

Go to: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/19079 and donate until it hurts.

We want to reach $1 million by tonight! Please forward info to your friends and family.

[tantrictim]

http://tiny.cc/mlu6B

The controversial congressman has been a member of Sons of Confederate Veterans. Max Blumenthal, author of the just-published Republican Gomorrah, asks: Did he remain so even after it became a hate group?

[JustLucky]

Hm... Let's see - do I have enough fingers to count all the rally members the article reports on?
Conservative website RedState.com
Republican strategist Patrick Ruffini
The Palmetto Scoop, a conservative publication in South Carolina

That's three. The article is based on three incidents. I have no doubt there are more, but it sure would be nice if we could get fewer misleading headlines around here.

[Betty Jean]

These people are constantly shooting themselves in the foot!

[thegreenhornet]

I think there was a typo in your headline. Didn't you mean "Great American Zero"?

[EgregiousEgregious]

As a retired colonel in the Army Reserve

[DestinationsUnknown]

Joe Biden stated Wilson 'demeaned the institution'

Just like the GOP/Murdoch is doing now to the Office of the President.

Destroy our country and they think an apology is all that is required?

Global Mass Destruction and they think an apology is all that is required!

Think Again!

The WORLD BLAMES you - GOP!

THE WORLD!

GOP Country First Do Nothing Sorry Leadership won't cut it!

Get out of our way-

GO DESTROY another country-

The 'Sorry GOP DO NOTHING Leadership' won't cut it!

[DestinationsUnknown]

Does Murdoch have a university yet?

All the Murdoch students- You need to go take a few economic classes

and then takes some finance classes

[AlteSoldier]

Didn't Joe get a $240,000 kickback from the health insurance companies?

That is motivation enough there?

[AlteSoldier]

Vote the Bum out!

[Humanistic]

The author will please use the correct terminology. "Most lawmakers condemned Rep. Joe Wilson..." The correct term is "admonished" not condemned. If it were condemnation, he would be censured, but that is not going to happen.

[AndyGra]

Proper words mean a lot. Words and wording are the essence of the legislative process.

[Kevins]

Maybe not 'condemned',
but still pilloried.

And forever will be. Because he's a heckler against history.

[balmora]

Sixty four years ago Norman Thomas knew what was going
to happen to our country in 2009. Norman Mattoon Thomas
(November 20, 1884 - December 19, 1968) was a leading
American socialist, pacifist, and six-time presidential
candidate for the Socialist Party of America. The Socialist
Party candidate for President of the US, Norman Thomas, said
this in a 1944 speech: "The American people will never
knowingly adopt socialism. But, under the name of
"liberalism", they will adopt every fragment of
the socialist program, until one day America will be a
socialist nation, without knowing how it happened." He
went on to say: "I no longer need to run as a
Presidential Candidate for the Socialist Party. The Democrat
Party has adopted our platform".

[AlaskanWannaB]

And, your point is....

[Matahar]

Why shouldn't they?

Obama immediately accepting his apology made it all seem okay.

[AlaskanWannaB]

In the long run, it makes Obama the better person! You do not have to dropped to the level of Wilson to gain respect. I'll bet you any amount of money that Obama earned the respect of millions for his restraint and his willingness to accept Wilson's cowardly apology. Personally, I am proud of Obama for responding in the manner that he did. I couldn't have. I would have blown my stack. But, a person like Obama is a bigger person that either you or me....and, definitely, CongressKLAN Wilson. Obama is garnering a lot of respect. We don't see it, but he did on Wednesday night.

[StopTheInsanity73]

The events unfolding before us, are becoming more and more predictable. Polarization is at the core of the problem.
The necessary CHANGE our nation needs, isn't at the TOP.
It's at the roots; EVERY US CITIZEN.
This time, not to elect 'someone to fix it for us'.
But to create the UNITY our 50 states need to remain a NATION.
WE wasted 8 years with Bush and the partisan bickering on both sides. Our country sank deeper into debt and ultimately our economy fell. Healthcare and other costs skyrocketed.
Another 4 years of this polarized gridlock is national suicide.
Replacing Obama with Palin, or anyone else favored by one side and not the other will continue this polarization and our nation's decline.
The CHANGE we need, starts with the man/woman in the mirror, not the man/woman in the White House.

[yweston]

Of course they'll rally around him. Conservatives will rally around anything their ilk does. If he left his "family" in the name of conservatism they'd rally around that, Oops I forgot Sanford already did that

[FHTB]

Good point...BT­W: I love your post pic! Best Diana Ross album...