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News & ArtsTuesday, September 15, 2009
Politics Rebuked
Posted by Eli Sanders on Tue, Sep 15, 2009 at 2:46 PM
The Democrats, flexing their muscle as the party that controls both houses of Congress, have formally rebuked Rep. Joe Wilson for calling President Obama a liar during his health care address last week.
The text, which many of our readers will find far too polite, is nevertheless a political rarity:
Whereas on September 9, 2009, during the joint session of Congress convened pursuant to House Concurrent Resolution 179, the President of the United States, speaking at the invitation of the House and Senate, had his remarks interrupted by the Representative from South Carolina, Mr. Wilson;And Whereas the conduct of the Representative from South Carolina was a breach of decorum and degraded the proceedings of the joint session, to the discredit of the House: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives disapproves of the behavior of the Representative from South Carolina, Mr. Wilson, during the joint session of Congress held on September 9, 2009.
No doubt coming soon to the South Carolina House race: attack commercials against Wilson flashing the words, "REBUKED BY CONGRESS."
4
well, the ad can't say "rebuked" because most South Carolinians don't know what that word means. Maybe it'll say "Congress sez him a bad yelly man."
5
@2: Because the asshole would not apologize to the body that he actually injured the most -- his colleagues in the congress. His outburst broke the rules of decorum for joint sessions of congress and he should have apologized for breaking them.
He acted like a child and should be treated like one.
He acted like a child and should be treated like one.
6
@2 Because it's in the interest of Congress to maintain order when they are convened, and formally discipline (here in the form of a rebuke) those who cannot maintain a basic degree of self-control. Or do you want the U.S. to have a legislative body like the Taiwanese parliament?
7
This is the congressional version of texting a frowny face emoticon to someone.
Obama: "hey yall we arent covering illegals"
Joe Wilson: "u lie!"
HouseDems: ":( Not cool man :("
Obama: "hey yall we arent covering illegals"
Joe Wilson: "u lie!"
HouseDems: ":( Not cool man :("
8
@5: I have to agree with @2. This is so...U.N.-ish. We get it that the democrats are pissed off about Rep. Wilson. I don't think they should be spending their time to make a formal "we disapprove of your action" declaration.
Maybe we could focus on repealing DOMA, or DADT, or healthcare reform. Make some formal decisions about those, please. Anything else is a waste of time.
Maybe we could focus on repealing DOMA, or DADT, or healthcare reform. Make some formal decisions about those, please. Anything else is a waste of time.
9
It was the least thing one could do, given his grievous actions.
Especially since dueling is out, nowadays.
Especially since dueling is out, nowadays.
13
Wilson is gonna wear this like a badge; 'cause he knows being a southern white male means never having to say sorry for any action when a boy gets all uppity.
15
This is why the Democratic Party disgusts me. Won't do shit no the wars. Won't do shit to help working people in this economy. Won't do shit to make single payer a reality. Won't do shit to bailout schools. Won't do shit to stop Israel's genocide against Palestine. Won't do shit to pass and sign gay rights. BUT... "The Democrats, flexing their muscle as the party that controls both houses of Congress, have formally rebuked Rep. Joe Wilson..." Sure, he's a racist assshole, but is that the BEST we can expect from the self-proclaimed "party of the people"?
16
attack commercials? hell, he'll put that in his own commercials. i bet his support has gone up 10% for "stickin' up fur thu litul gy".
18
The Democrats,
flexing their MUSCLE.....
hahahahahahahahahahahahaha
what a hoot
glad to see
they finally found
something
to use that SUPERMAJORITY for...
flexing their MUSCLE.....
hahahahahahahahahahahahaha
what a hoot
glad to see
they finally found
something
to use that SUPERMAJORITY for...
19
This will backfire. Joe Wilson speaks for many of us who know that socialized medicine is a big step towards socialist tyranny, and it will encourage other traditionalist patriots in Congress to speak out against the Marxist homosexual in the White House.
And he will fail.
And he will fail.
20
South Carolina. You know, the idiots who started the Civil War. Maybe y'all need to brush up on your history. He'll wear this like a badge of honor.
21
This was a stupid idea. As Barney Frank noted, congressional sanctions should not be used merely to let a guy know he's being a fucking jerk.
And yes -- he was being a fucking jerk.
And yes -- he was being a fucking jerk.
22
If you screamed out something during an all-company meeting at work, would you just apologize to the person you yelled at? Really? You wouldn't feel the responsibility for being disrespectful to those you work with. Well, then your boss might think differently (and that would be Nancy Pelosi at that office), and tell you, publicly for the benefit of all who might think that is the way to act at work, to sit your ass down and shut the hell up. That's why.
Wilson, Williams, West - disrespectful behavior all. Either we are a civil society with rules for certain situations or we are not.
Wilson, Williams, West - disrespectful behavior all. Either we are a civil society with rules for certain situations or we are not.
23
By the way, for those whinging on about all the wasted time -- the piece of gripping legislation after the Wilson Rebuke was whether or not to "recognize the region from Manhattan, Kansas, to Columbia, Missouri, as the Kansas City Animal Health Corridor, and for other purposes". It's not like all they're talking about besides this is health care (for humans, anyway).
24
But Obama did lie. Several times during his address, and specifically about the illegal immigrants. The House bill pretends to exclude illegal immigrants, but the Democrats deliberately left out any verification or enforcement mechanism. So yes, illegal immigrants will be covered. Maybe that's a good thing. We don't want to deny needed health care from those who are merely undocumented, do we? But Obama did lie.
Which is worse -- the President lying to the Congress and the American people, or 1 Congressman calling him out on it?
Which is worse -- the President lying to the Congress and the American people, or 1 Congressman calling him out on it?
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