Your Tax Dollars at Work: Joe Wilson’s Censure
The House of Representatives may not be able to do much these days to draw praise from this corner of the room, currently having a joint approval rating somewhere in the range of fifteen points below Dick Cheney, but let the record show they can pass something. I mean, they’re turning the health care debacle into a national tragedy right before our eyes, and can’t seem to pass a single piece of paper that doesn’t drive the national debt beyond Carl Sagan type numbers. But today they got together and decided that Joe Wilson’s rude outburst last week deserved a censure.
House Democrats dealt South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson a formal rebuke Wednesday, taking the rare step of passing a resolution of disapproval for his famous “You lie!” outburst last week in the House chamber.
The vote was 240-179, falling almost exclusively along party lines.
As I said at the time it happened on our radio show, Wilson was dead wrong to do that, and needed to apologize. And he did, directly to the President as well as going on television and expressing his regrets. Had he stuck to his guns, slugged a bottle of Mad Dog and continued on shouting insults, he should most certainly have been censured. But he didn’t. All the House did today was show themselves to be a hopelessly partisan body who will leap at any scrap of red meat to score political points, even when it seems destined to backfire on them.
Over at Hot Air, we are reminded of previous speeches on the House floor by Democrats such as Pete Stark. And on a subject related to… you guessed it. Health care.
First of all, I’m just amazed that they can’t figure out– the Republicans are worried that we can’t pay for insuring an additional ten million children. They sure don’t care about finding $200 billion to fight the illegal war in Iraq. Where are you gonna get that money? You gonna tell us lies, like you’re telling us today? Is that how you’re going to fund the war? You don’t have the money to fund the war or children, but you’re going to spend it to blow up innocent people, if we could get enough kids to grow old enough for you to send to Iraq to get their heads blown off for the President’s amusement.
Not exactly the model of decorum, eh? Now, let’s be very clear here. I recognize that there is a difference between what Stark did and what Wilson said. Shouting insults at the President during an address to a joint session of Congress is on another level. We don’t get the same entertainment value from the House that people get from the House of Commons for the Brits, or the legislative bodies of various South American or Asian nations, but there’s always some sharp elbows thrown in the chamber. Still, an apology should really have been good enough.
Who wins in all of this? The censure is, as the linked article notes, nothing more than a slap on the wrist for Wilson. But in the process, he highlighted a nasty loophole in the legislation which Democrats rushed to close after claiming that it didn’t exist, pretty much vindicating Wilson’s ill phrased claim about Obama’s statements. It also drove tons of money into a race next year which otherwise probably wouldn’t have drawn much attention. The Democrats are sliding across the board in polls, with even Harry Reid looking like he’s in trouble next year, and I have a feeling that Joe Wilson will ride this moment in the spotlight to an easy victory, even if the original cause was pretty offensive.
But hey… let’s be of good cheer. The House actually held a vote and passed something!
opinions powered by SendLove.to
15 Responses to “Your Tax Dollars at Work: Joe Wilson’s Censure”
Queen Nancy just had to show Obama who is in charge, just because the President accepted Wilson's apology doesn't mean its good enough for her highness.
“resolution of disapproval”
*****
A congressman gives the world a public display of divisiveness in the one forum where our issues are put aside and we are the United States of America, and he gets a slap from a wet noodle.
We have something else in mind. Boycott South Carolina online when shopping this holiday season. Just don't buy anything at all from that state until a heartfelt and sincere public apology is issued. If you're in approval of what he did, then by all means, buy from there. If you aren't don't. We'll let the numbers figure out how harsh of a reprimand that is. Can't be all that bad, the GOP says they have overwhelming support.
We'll see…
This should be titled the “Joe Wilson Re-election Assurance Act”.
“Queen Nancy just had to show Obama who is in charge, just because the President accepted Wilson's apology doesn't mean its good enough for her highness.
Other than your obvious contempt for Nancy Pelosi, do you have any basis for this statement?
For those of us who have actually been following this story, it is apparent that Pelosi wanted to drop the issue, but was forced to go along with other members of her party.
From the Washington Post:
“A vote (to reprimand Rep.Joe Wilson) would reverse the initial sentiment voiced by the president and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that it was time to “move on” to the debate on health-care. But the White House and Pelosi yielded to senior black Democrats, led by House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.), and other members of the leadership team, who argued that Wilson's remark was a breach of conduct that must not be tolerated. “
I am astonished and disappointed that the Dems went through with the reprimand. Beyond being a waste of time and a distraction in the middle of one of the most important issues of our time, it is political idiocy.
Had the Democrats taken the high road as Obama and Pelosi wanted, Joe Wilson would be seen as a boor and promptly forgotten, but now they've made him a martyr, and we'll be seeing him on every Fox program until a health care bill is passed (or not), at which point he will be tossed out like yesterday's news (appropriately enough).
I have to wonder what the Dems hoped to gain from this vote.
Who cares? There are rules of conduct and some in the House wanted there to be a consequence, however mild, of a breach of those rules. Maybe it will prevent future outbursts. Otherwise, the rule is “mouth off and trash civility and protocol, then apologize and all is forgiven.”
“Had the Democrats taken the high road as Obama and Pelosi wanted”, Joe Wilson, or some other redneck would have felt it alright to scream the same thing with “boy” added to the end at the SOTU in January. This crap has got to stop somewhere! Wilson's own wife couldn't believe her old man had been such a cretin.
the people we dont see are the moderate repubs who are watching the day by day carpet bombing with 'friendly fire' of their own party.
Certainly those who dislike Obama/Dems/etc., may vote for Wilson in the coming election. But chances are Wilson will lose some of his appointments in the House before the election even takes place. This will hobble his ability to shovel pork. His constituency will note this.
I think the light censure is, as Green Dreams says, a bit of a bulwark. Wilson is unlikely to be trusted ever again by those in his own party, who easily enough made a 'he's in our family' vote today. But, each politician who voted that way, likely did so because their constituency supported that vote, not because they believe Joe Wilson is just fine. And they will conduct themselves in the future as solidifies their own positions, not Joe Wilson's.
just my .02
From what I hear personally from moderate Repubs, they're not taken aback, they are angry at Wilson for splattering all GOP with his crack.
Governor Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania decides his state wants Holiday revenues on the Rachel Maddow show. Thanks again to Mr. Wilson for inspiring the public to act. See the seal of the great State of Pennsylvania next to Colorado's placeofnopity dot com.
While I certainly see the rational behind the pro-reprimand comments, I just don't see this playing out well. Moderate Republicans may very well be disgusted at Wilson's outburst, but, really, what influence do moderate Republican's have these days. At this moment in history the party seems to be run by Rush Limbaugh and Fox News, and more recently, by Tea-Bag crazies, and Joe Wilson will become their darling.
What I would like to have seen would be for Pelosi in the House and Reed in the Senate to make very strong statements before the next Presidential address about what the expected decorum is, and remind their members that this is an address from President of the United States to Congress and not some town hall meeting.
I don't think the reprimand is a big deal, and I would have rather the Democrats not done it.
However! The Republicans deserve some public shaming, and they would certainly have raised an even bigger stink if the tables were turned. Remember how Republicans moved Congress to immediately act against MoveOn because of the Betray-us ads?
Oh puuuuulease!
If Nancy put her foot down the others wouldn;t have done anything other than mouth off to the press.
I'd vote for the South Carolina District 2 Economic Prosperity Act. With all the money pouring in from other parts of the country to both Wilson and his opponent it should be a good boost to the economy of his district.
How do you know that? I'll ask again – is there any substantive basis for your claim? If so, what is it?
The overreaction to Wilson by lefties (including on this site) was actually worse than the already-bad behavior by the Dems in Congress.
At least the text of the censure resolution wasn't out of the ordinary, too.