Joe Wilson Resolution of Disapproval: House Votes To Admonish

WASHINGTON (Associated Press) - The House has voted to admonish Rep. Joe Wilson over his "You lie" outburst to President Barack Obama during the president's health care speech to Congress last week.

The 240-179 vote on the resolution of disapproval reflected the sharp partisan divide over the issue. Democrats insisted that the South Carolina Republican take responsibility for what they said was a serious breach of decorum. Republicans characterized the vote as a political stunt.

Wilson himself would not back down on his position that he owed the House no apology. Surrounded by Republican supporters, Wilson said Obama had "graciously accepted my apology and the issue is over."

Here is the vote tally:

Most Democrats -- 233 -- supported the resolution, while most Republicans -- 167 -- voted against it. Here are the other members of Congress who didn't vote with the bulk of their party (10 additional members did not vote at all):

DEMS WHO VOTED NO
Arcuri
Delahunt
Giffords
Hinchey
Hodes
Kucinich
Maffei
Massa
McDermott
Moore (WI)
Taylor
Teague

REPUBLICANS WHO VOTED YES
Cao
Emerson
Flake
Inglis
Jones
Petri
Rohrabacher

DEMS WHO VOTED 'PRESENT'
Engel
Foster
Frank (MA)
Shea-Porter
Skelton

Comments

[BeltwayInsider]

Minority Leader John Boehner: " I think this is a political stunt aimed at distracting the American people from what they really care about, which is health care."

I couldn't agree with you more, John; Joe Wilson's outburst was quite a distraction from our far more urgent matters, and I'm glad to see that he's being reprimanded for his poor behavior, so that we can expect to see less of it in the future. We should expect at least as much from our representatives as we do from our grade school students.

Regarding Wilson's rather weak explanation for his misbehavior, blaming it on his experiences at the recent town hall meetings: "These were passionate events, full of honest patriots..."

No, Joe, I disagree with you here; these were passionate events full of HATEFUL BIG0TS.

[Lizaxyz]

Wilson is nothing but a racist volleyball.

[mommaserene]

I just can't believe the level of disrespect this country has come to.

Joe Wilson yells at the President--should have voiced his concerns by creating a bill that addresses them himself, rather than yelling like a 12-year-old

Kanye West takes the mic from an award winner while she is trying to give a thank-you speech--apologized on his blog...why didn't he just vent his anger on his blog or to the media? Why be so rude to a woman who did nothing to hurt him?

Serena Williams halts a game to yell at a referee (or whatever you call them in tennis)--she could have made a complaint later and had the play reviewed

ABC reporter leaks something the President said OFF THE RECORD--it was off the record! Granted, most of the public agrees with the statement, but how rude is it to stab the President of the United States in the back like that?

Our children see these people as role models. They want to grow up to be congressmen, reporters, musicians, sports players. I used these people as examples of how NOT to handle yourself when I talked to my 7 year old son the other day. We sat down and discussed thinking before acting, the golden rule, and that there is a time and place to voice every concern. I turned it into a "teachable moment" and I hope more parents do the same. Let's stop this cycle of disrespect!

[motoGpifupleez]

Joe Wilson's first public comment following the outburst:
"The party leadership told me i had to apologize, so I did".
This is not a person who is sorry for what they did. A real MAN would have stood before the nation, on the House floor, live on C-SPAN, and issued a sincere apology to the President, the Congress, and the People of the United States. That's what a REAL MAN would have done.
And then there's what Joe Wilson, Republican, South Carolina did.

[Zeus9000]

I always thought that a real man stood by what he believes, regardless of the number of adversaries. You think our kids should be raised to back down from seomthing they beleive in the second opposition appears? Wilson said a dumb remark, but I respect his right to say it.

[mommaserene]

The remark wasn't dumb; it was the time and place in which he said it that's the problem. People say much worse things about the President all the time, but that doesn't make it acceptable to do so in front of millions of people. A real man does stand by what he believes, but he also thinks before he acts. Mr. Wilson could very well have apologized, but added that he stands by what he said, just not the time and place he said it. It was the way in which he handled himself and the situation that made it so wrong.

It is akin to the behavior we saw at town hall meetings all over the country. Of course the people have a right to voice their opinions, but yelling has never been and never will be an effective measure.

I may disagree with a new policy implemented by the company I work for, but that doesn't give me the right to yell at the boss in front of my coworkers. There are ways to get what you want without being bullheaded and childish about it.

[Nina28]

Isn't it copy write infringement to use the Obama logo on a Joe Wilson "You Lie" tee shirt?

[midbikecrisis]

Joe Wilson was just living up to South Carolina standards...as low as they are!

[Lex10]

House also stated it was not lupus.

[eptfan]

The fundamental point here is the fragility of democratic law making . Unless the institutions of democratic decision-making operate in a way that all can be heard, that all are considered the voice of those they serve (or at least some of them), law and legislation will be nothing more than the reflection of numbers, raw power; rather than something akin to the will of the people.

The House and the Senate would each have punished behavior like Mr. Wilson's had it occured in ordinary debate. Certainly when the President of the country is speaking at a joint session the rules of civility and order ought to be no less vigorously enforced.

Sadly, this matter is presented in the media as personalities and partisanship. It is rather about the ability of the Congress to function. Those who voted NO, know better and should be ashamed.

[comunsenze]

I can't agree with you more. What's next? Punches being thrown on the house floor? This isn't a third world parliament.

[unclelew]

I wonder how the Democrats will behave when, 31 years from now, the Republicans elect a resident who's as bad as George II? The Republicans should keep that in mind the next time they decide to act like buffoons.
What goes around comes around.

[Mattcat25]

Republican Represtative Joe Wilson should've been made to stand in the public square shakled in a stock and then tickled with a goose feather. "THE LAUGHING STOCK OF CONGRESS!"

[Durango]

interesting that most Republicans do not believe in decorum in their chamber.

Most people don't know how Congress works. Or about the arcane rules of each chamber.

But any honest Congressman should vote to uphold decorum.

Bet it would have been different if it had been a Democrat insulting a Republican.

Just goes to show how far from reality the Republican Party has gone.

[Kay72403]

I wonder what the consequences would be if a non-white congressman had shouted "You Lie". All the members of congress follow the arcane rules of decorum except Joe Wilson....the problem is he is now flaunting his position and using it politically to raise money. There may have been an apology but it was after the leaders of his party urged him on.

[Principaldad]

Here is something I saw posted earlier that needs to be seen again, just in case anyone is tempted to say "good for "Wilson".

From the Republican's own rules of decorrum:

"The precedents of the House allow a wide latitude in criticism of the President, other executive officials, and the government itself. However, it is not permissible to use language that is personally offensive to the President, such as referring to him as a “hypocrite” or a “liar.” "

http://rules-republicans.house.gov/Educational/Read.aspx?ID=5

Note that these are general rules for speech in the House. They don't even cover the part about yelling over the President while he is addressing the Congress.

[Torsin]

Joe Wilson is a racist and hates black people.

[Jazzman323]

Joe Wilson donations up to 2 million and counting.

[Ashveda]

U.S. or Confederate dollars?

[Kay72403]

And if the Supreme Court allows Corporation "free speech" (MONEY) to contribute without limitation all except 5% of the American People will be disenfranchised from the democratic process.

[FirstShirt]

Wow, so Rangel who heads the tax committee and hasn't paid his taxes voted against Wilson for being out of order. Typical.

[Zeus9000]

Good point. An outburst garners all this attention, but a tax cheat gets swept under the carpet.

[MaeScott]

He should have been censured, the jacka$$.