Mr. No Respect: Joe Wilson Edition
This past Labor Day weekend I wrote a column about the lack of respect the office of the President has gotten lately from certain individuals, but I actually got to witness disrespect live and on television Wednesday night when Republican Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina called the president a liar to his face, by shouting "You lie!" at him during his joint address to congress.
President Obama was explaining that healthcare benefits would not extend to illegal immigrants, but Wilson shouted to differ. Not only was he loud and boorish, he ended up offending everyone from Nancy Pelosi (who gave him the blinkity-blink-blinky stare of death then quickly wrote something down) to other Republicans who honestly didn't need the distraction when they had successfully hijacked the healthcare debate up until now.
Wilson has since apologized for his outburst but the damage is done.
From Popdecay:
Wilson called the White House to apologize to President Obama in person, but was routed to White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, according to Associated Press. He also issued a statement: “This evening I let my emotions get the best of me,” he said. “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.”
“Everybody was stunned,” Rep. Maxine Waters, D-CA, said of Wilson’s eruption. “It was just something that nobody had ever witnessed before. We all felt embarrassed.”
Republicans froze; several glanced in Wilson’s direction.
The problem with Wilson's outburst is would this have happened to any other president? I can't think of ANY other instance where something that disrespectful was shouted at the president by a member of Congress. At Politico, Roger Simon quipped that if Democrats had shouted "You lie" every time they thought a Republican president was lying to them Richard Nixon would still be speaking. It's simply unheard of no matter how much you disagree with the president. There is a certain weight the office carries that is supposed to go beyond disagreements, beyond political wrangling. He is the president. As I said in my earlier column, if you can't respect the man, respect the office he represents. There is never a good reason for a member of congress to behave like a Philadelphia Eagles fan booing Santa Claus. Was Wilson drunk? Was he lacking in "home training" as my mother would say? I highly doubt it. He knew what he was doing and did it anyway. It's the old reporter's adage -- act first, apologize later.
Well, this outburst will likely not benefit Wilson. He'll get a few attaboys back home in South Carolina, but for the most part he was an embarassment, soon to be used by Democrats as the symbol of the opposition -- a crash, rude bumblebutt who doesn't know when to shut up. Who isn't interested in political discourse, but shit-talking. It's his face and his name they will point to as why it is near impossible to get a bipartisan bill passed. How can you work with the opposition when the opposition can't even keep a lid on it for a presidential speech? Don't let the T-shirts fool you, the president is not your homeboy. You can holler at him all you like, but it is you who will end up looking like the fool.
Danielle Belton | 35 Comments | Share Article | Email Article | Print Article | tagged Barack Obama, Joe Wilson, Politics, healthcare debate 
Reader Comments (35)
Yeller Feller had a copy of the speech beforehand. I think he planned to yell out at different points and then got a bit embarrassed and confused when his proven-not-to-be-shy-of-heckling bretheren had the good sense to realize he'd gone too far and didn't join with him.
There's no accident that a group of Republicans had a copy of their 4-page "plan" pamphlet. They planned to wave it around and disrupt Obama. Obama had his game on and came prepared for them.
Believe me,during Bush admin, there may have been Dem sitting-on-their-hands incidents or grumblin' low or Code Pinksters screechin' in the gallery at a Bush address to congress, but no Democratic lawmaker did anything remotely close to this. I'm not being partisan -- it really did not ever happen. When old Washington hands are genuinely (not faux) shocked by something, you know it's beyond the pale.
And, if you watch Ole Yeller's apology today, it's clear that he's managed to spook himself, too.
What a lowlife, for real. If my mom was in her right, un-alzheimered mind she'd swear there was a conspiracy afoot, to wit: "They put that fool up to shouting out like that to throw the President off his stride. They're trying to make him lose his cool so it can be said 'you see, we knew a Black man wasn't ready for that position'."
Oh but baby, Michelle was TIGHT!
It wasn't just the shouting, but the typing on his Blackberry after he yelled at the President was ridiculous, and that other disgruntled old fart sitting there with the sign around his neck talking about 'what bill'. I am waiting for one of these Repubs to try throwing a shoe at Obama.
No one has respect for this dude. It won't be long before they give him a viking hat and a big clock to wear around his neck. The world lost all respect for him when he was flown to apologize for is fair speech to the arabs and israelis. White America lost repsect for him when he apologized to the Gates white, high school graduate cop. Now, white America are just toying with this "Chicken George" character. if my child wants to grow up to be treated like a ... to be President of this country and can not demonstrate anything that I taught them about Black pride, dignity, and self-respect, I'd kill my child if they grew up to be like him. I ain't raising no "Chicken George's" we just going to have to struggle like Black folks with pride, dignity, and self-respect. Education is good, but when you sell your soul for money, you ain't no better than "ofay". The quicker Black people understand that, the better.
H.R. 3200: Sec 246 — NO FEDERAL PAYMENT FOR UNDOCUMENTED ALIENS
I was watching the speech when I hear that childish out burst. Yeah, I called it childish..Thank God for Tivo cause I rewind it and laughed at the side-eyes of the POTS, Biden, and Pelosi. Now, I would have wished that Obama went over there and smack the taste out of Wilson mouth. But he never missed a beat to come right. He doesn't have to stoop to his level. There is no respect for the leader of the Free (and Stupid) World. Where was all of this when the Iraq War, the non finding of WMD, or the Bailout Plan under Bush. . This is about Health care for Americans. It is ridiculous and moronic that this is the subject that is getting out of hand.
I will be writing Rep. Wilson... Respect my President!!!
I am so angry, dissppointed, shocked, as a child I can't recall ever seeing people of such low moral character being elevated to such prominent positions of status in society much less being exalted for their lack of respect and inappropriate behaviour. To his supporters I pose this question how did Mr. Wilson's outburst constructively effect policy or legislation? It did not it, I fear Mr. Wilson's outburst was simply a loss of restraint on his contempt for Obama, not his policies, if it was about policy I think he may have picked an arguing point with slighty more validity to it to speak out so strongly against. The current proposed bill is as Obama explicitly states with no benefits for illegals. So if Obama is not lying, why are you so venomously lying about his position or propositons? Greed? Bias? Envy? I don't know whatever the motivation it's far from noble. It appears most of the opposition to Obama's administration is scarely aware of policy issues the coalition just seem to be united against him. They don't seem to have good understanding on what Obama postion or their own postion is on policy, or ever care for that matter.
2G:
I hope you statement is hyperbole, otherwise you haven't you been paying attention to who gets elected to Congress.
desertwind:
Sorry, Dems did boo Bush, see my previous post with link. Of course some people here don't seem to think that their Dems can ever do any wrong.
This attitude about "yeah it sucks, BUT the Democrats...." is so tired.
As for Wilson, he has a track record for being ignorant and all kinds of wrong. Watch the right celebrate him for it in the next coming weeks.
Some call Joe Wilson a great statesman, and are even proud of his “Shout Out”, so lets see, he says, he was told by the Republican leadership to apologize (he did not realize the magnitude of his mistake), he then gives his weak “not for reals” apology, but then goes on to those “Commentator Talk Shows” and basically says he real was not wrong and plays the victim card and calls for people to send in for money to support him for re-election. Had he kept quiet after his apology, that might have been the end of it but now that people know he lied about the apology the story will continue, until he is out of a job and the funny thing is, he does not see it coming. This summer has been rough for his beleaguered political party. At least he did not end up on the “Republican 2009 Summer of Love” list: Assemblyman, Michael D. Duvall (CA), Senator John Ensign (NV), Senator Paul Stanley (TN), Governor Mark Stanford (SC), Board of Ed Chair, and Kristin Maguire AKA Bridget Keeney (SC). In my opinion the Republican Party has been taken over the most extreme religious right (people who love to push their beliefs on others while trying to take away the rights of those they just hate) and that’s who they need to extract from their party if they real want to win. Good Luck, because as they said in WACO, “We Ain’t Coming Out”. The bithers, the teabaggers, the screamers, and the deathers continued extreme minority presence will become tiresome to mainstream America, if it has not already done so.