The last time I used that title, I came down on Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. for his outrageous comments about then candidate Barack Obama. Now, a Republican member of Congress, a five-term Congressman no less, had the unmitigated gall to call the President a liar in the middle of the President's joint address. Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina has embarrassed himself in a spectacular fashion. I mean it's one thing to think the man is a liar; it's a whole new ballgame to call him one in the middle of his speech, which is being watched the world over.
I am so sure that Wilson was one of those Republicans who challenged the patriotism of Democrats who disagreed with the policies of President Bush; that was standard practice following 9/11 from the right. But no one from the Democratic party dared to interrupt President Bush when he addressed a joint session of Congress. Oddly enough, those members had enough respect for the office of the President to contain themselves.
I am glad that many in the GOP, with John McCain leading the charge, have criticized Wilson's actions. That certainly helped influence the timing of his apology, which he issued fairly quickly by Washington standards. But the fact that our civil (if you can call it that) discourse has reached this new "town hall" level low says so much about who we have become as a people.
I wonder if Wilson is a "birther" too?
5 comments:
I'm so embarrassed. From my home state. The horror.
And southerners claim a special relationship with politesse, don't we? That just makes it worse.
Hey - so I sent a complaint email through his congressional website. I'm a South Carolinian, after all.
And the main site is down. "For maintenance." Sure.
Weird. I mean, aside from the simple incivility of it all, Wilson chose to accuse the President of "lying" about something that anybody who can Google can fact-check in about 12 seconds.
From the House Bill--(Section 246.)
"Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States."
Similar language is in all the proposed Senate bills.
I wonder if these right-wing whackos are so used to lying themselves the don't know the difference anymore?
Jeffery—you are a fan of using the term "birther" to describe those people who question Obama's citizenship. What is the cute term for people on the left who questioned McCain's eligibility for the Presidency, and even filed in federal court to challenge him? An honest observer would have to recognize that both sides of the ideological spectrum have questioned the eligibility of the candidates.
It's not a term that I like per se. It's just the handy term. Some did question McCain eligibility and it was as silly as it is for Obama. The difference is that the Democratic leadership moved to shut that shit down. The GOP leadership has not done that.
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