Patterico's Pontifications

9/15/2009

House Reprimands Joe Wilson

Filed under: Government,Obama — DRJ @ 4:40 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

In what ABC called a racially charged debate, the House voted today to reprimand Joe Wilson for yelling “You Lie!” during President Obama’s speech to Congress last week.

Here is the text of the Resolution. The final vote was 249-170.

— DRJ

45 Responses to “House Reprimands Joe Wilson”

  1. They could save a lot of trees if the margins were smaller; no wonder the health care bill is over a 1000 pages.

    kaf (525681)

  2. Barack Obama entrapped Mr. Wilson with his lies and had a camera there to capture it on tape. This sort of political stunt has no place in our democracy I don’t think.

    happyfeet (71f55e)

  3. “In a related Resolution, the House also disapproved of Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, George W. Bush, and unscripted Town Hall Constituent Meetings”

    Alasdair (e7cb73)

  4. I think Joe Wilson should journal about his feelings on this whole matter and get in touch with his inner self.

    daleyrocks (718861)

  5. Having read some of the speeches by the Democrats, this was about race and it will get worse. I don’t think this is a good idea for them but they have to do what they have to do.

    Mike K (2cf494)

  6. I didn’t know that there were 170 KKK members in the House of Representatives.

    nk (df76d4)

  7. Several points to make:

    1) I know I should be used to it by now, but I never cease to be amazed by the absolute gall of the Democrats. With the assistance of their media minions, they act as if they were perfect ladies and gentlemen during the eight years of the Bush administration.

    2) I’ve always found it interesting that libs in general – and black libs in particular – are so fond of “symbolic” gestures, i.e., resolutions, apologies, etc. Of course, I suppose it’s much easier to pass a resolution that it is to actually do something about out-of-wedlock births, crime, low graduation rates, etc.

    3) Isn’t it interesting how Rep. Lee can get away with saying, in so many words, “Everybody knows that a significant number of conservative white people are evil”? Can you imagine the outrage that would ensue if a conservative made a similar generalization about blacks?

    Bubba Maximus (456175)

  8. Racism will be the fallback position of accusation for the next 4 or 8 years.

    What Rep. Lee does by making this a racial issue is not only demean and insult citizens who were protesting at DC, the town halls, and Sen. Wilson but even more so, belittles President Obama by treating his skin color, hence him, as so precious, nothing negative could possibly have any validity because to her, his skin color is the deal breaker.

    Shouldn’t she have more respect for her president? I do.

    In life, most of us fall or stand by our words and deeds. It is how and what we are judged by.

    Rep. Lee refuses to allow President Obama to be judged by that universal standard and in refusing that, she also refuses to allow him, as an adult, to assume responsibility and accountability from the people he works for. Ultimately, she infantalizes him.

    Fortunately, according to Robert Gibbs anyway, President Obama doesn’t think this way, which makes me wonder if he feels hamstrung by this inaccurate assumption and scapegoating of Lee’s, which certainly helps in preventing us from entering that post-racial society we keep hearing so much about.

    “I don’t think the president believes that people are upset because of the color of his skin,” said White House Press Secretary and Obama confidante Robert Gibbs on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday.

    Dana (863a65)

  9. If it’s about race then Lee is kinda almost sorta relevant, or at least she can imagine she is. Otherwise she’s just a very unremarkable dirty socialist liberal hoochie what Nancy can take for granted.

    happyfeet (6b707a)

  10. You know what needs saying? Two words:

    Pete Stark.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Stark#Controversial_statements

    Unless, you know, that’s different or something.

    Eric Blair (0b61b2)

  11. I never knew “liar” was a race. Silly me.

    Xrlq (62cad4)

  12. Joe Wilson should go into the House, and make a simple statement….he should quote the President’s speech, then make the argument that the speech, based upon simple facts, was indeed a lie, and say that…

    Then say nothing….

    reff (502473)

  13. I know that libs hear the inaudible “keening racist dogwhistle” that nobody else hears. They know all the “code words” that subliminally communicate racism. But I am freshly perplexed by how they tease racism out of the two word outburst “you lie!” This is a whole new level of bullshit.

    gp (de7e13)

  14. Morons. All of them.

    PatriotRider (37b91c)

  15. There were 2 things the confederacy feared: black people and the feds. Obama is both. No wonder someone who supports the confederacy has problems with him.

    imdw (2d0308)

  16. I have two words for Pete Stark if ever he were to speak that way in my presence: Carpe Jugular

    PatriotRider (37b91c)

  17. Gawd, but you are the ultimate asshat here – and that’s saying quite a lot.

    Dmac (a93b13)

  18. The Democrats want Stalinist show trials for Bush administration officials over “torture”. Now the House Democrats move to Maoist “self criticism” for a member who dared question the Leader. The lapdog media celebrates in the manner of Pravda or People’s Daily.

    Ken Hahn (b76e59)

  19. There’s no way to respond to someone such as imdw because his logic is so convoluted — and frankly insane — it can’t be responded, too.

    But, I’ll give it a try. According to imdw, Rep. Joe Wilson is obviously a racist and KKK member with a hood in his closet and a noose in his trunk because, when he served in South Carolina’s House, he opposed removing the Confederate battle flag image from the state’s flag.

    Then, he said, “you lie” on the U.S. House floor why the President was giving a speech. Do you see why your logic doesn’t apply in your character assassination?

    Have you ever heard of Woody Allen? Have you ever heard this quote: “All men are mortal. Socrates was mortal. Therefore, all men are Socrates.”

    Do you see why your logic doesn’t apply in your character assassination?

    So, let’s move on (snicker) now to another example.

    Let’s say Van Jones was appointed as an administration “czar.” And let’s say Van Jones signed a petition that called for the investigation of George Bush for willingly murdering around 3,000 people on Sept. 11.

    And let’s also assume that Mr. Jones also participated in a “Truther” protest.

    Does that make Mr. Jones a “Truther?” Maybe not, but there is much more empirical evidence that Mr. Jones was a “Truther,” than Rep. Wilson is a racist.

    For your sake, don’t allow Maureen Dowd’s fevered imagination serve as proof of your convictions. And don’t let stereotypical leftist fantasies about the South rule your thoughts.

    The United States has come a long way since Reconstruction. Although you didn’t use the word, your implication was clear. Accusing someone of being a supporter of the confederacy, or throwing the “racist” word around willy-nilly diminishes the power of those words and what they actually mean.

    Save your vitriol for those who deserve it.

    If you come up with proof-positive that Rep. Wilson is a racist, I will listen.

    Ag80 (592691)

  20. Speaking of “racists” …

    Have y’all heard what’s going on in Valdosta, GA? The local chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference is demanding the resignation of the school superintendent because the local students were not allowed to watch Obama’s speech live.

    A white guy, the super noted that DVDs of the speech are available to teachers, who can incorporate it into their lesson plans, but that’s not good enough for the SCLC.

    (FYI, Valdosta is located on I-75 on the Georgia-Florida border. A town of 45,000 residents, it is the home of Moody Air Force Base and the Valdosta Wildcats, the winningest high school football program in the nation.)

    Anyway, here’s the link to the story:

    http://www.valdostadailytimes.com/local/local_story_258000146.html

    Bubba Maximus (456175)

  21. Thanks for the try, Bubba.

    Yep, we’ve heard about it and, yep, there’s nothing wrong with voters questioning the local government’s decision.

    Where do they come from?

    Ag80 (592691)

  22. #15 There were 2 things the confederacy feared: black people and the feds. Obama is both. No wonder someone who supports the confederacy has problems with him.
    Comment by imdw — 9/15/2009 @ 6:55 pm

    I request that this poster be put in moderation (at least) until posts worthy of logical assessment are forthcoming.

    The intelligence of those who declare, “If you criticize Obama you are racist” is on par with those who say, “If you don’t believe in aliens you’re part of the cover-up”. A claim is being made which cannot be falsified and requires no evidence to support it.

    MD in Philly (d4f9fa)

  23. The dems hold a 77-vote advantage over the GOP, from everything I read. I can fully understand Joe Wilson abstaining. But what of the other vote? Or the other abstentions?

    John Hitchcock (3fd153)

  24. imdw lives in its own little world. If it weren’t suffering from self-imposed intellectual dwarfism, I’d point and laugh.

    Oh, heck.

    *points*
    ROFL

    John Hitchcock (3fd153)

  25. My response of “Where do they come from?” was a bit ambiguous.

    So, I’ll be clearer. Why do trolls come to a site such as this one, or Althouse, and pretend to be what they think we are?

    Why don’t they stay nestled in their Kos cocoon so that no trouble ever affords them.

    It’s not only tiresome, it’s not even smart.

    “Bubba Maximus?” Give me a break.
    N

    Ag80 (592691)

  26. Oh, and I did want to add….when Wilson makes his speech to the House, he should add something like this…

    “For those of you who think my comment was about race: It was only about race if the President’s comments were about race. If his were not, mine was not.”

    (Of course, then those complaintants would say that I’m employing reverse racism)

    reff (502473)

  27. imdw,

    I disagree. Do you really think that many people are still fighting the Civil War? If so, I don’t see how Obama was elected.

    DRJ (a51a0e)

  28. I’ll once again point to the Democrat Civil Rights history and a perfect example of real race superiority and a real demand for servitude among any who isn’t white, as can clearly be seen here.

    And, please, libs. Please quit calling conservatives racists. Please quit claiming conservatives are using code words or “boy understood” phraseology. You’re only forcing me to keep providing a link to extremely longitudinal historical fact regarding the Democrat Party.

    John Hitchcock (3fd153)

  29. As P.J. O’Rourke might point out, the more time the Democrats spend with their silly reprimands and semi-censures and admonitions and disapprovals, the less time they will have to screw up foreign policy and reach into our wallets. I say let them spend all the time they want on their petty little games.

    JVW (d1215a)

  30. And this reprimand is supposed to make me believe the emperor does have clothes? Orwell could do no better himself than to censure a man for stating the obvious.

    The reaction of the press in this country proves it is incapable of rational thought. The issue is whether Wilson was right about what the effects of the bill would be or whether Obama and others were lying. Since the answer to this question is not one they wish made known they turn to irrelevancies.

    I couldn’t care less what one politician yells at another. They could throttle each other from sun up to sun down and I doubt the Republic would suffer one whit. We could probably even balance the budget with the pay-per-view. I only care to what end they intend to use the government’s monopoly on force. In this case we are deciding whether to confiscate money from our neighbors for a certain purpose. We should at least do the victims the honor of telling them to what use we intend to put their money.

    It is the duty of every citizen to monitor how the government uses its monopoly so that he can decide whether to continue allowing the government to keep it. It is the job of the press to keep us informed so we can make that decision. When politicians lie to get what they want they lose any legitimacy they have to exercise power over others. The press should have called Obama on his BS so we never had to get to the point of yelling the truth at the podium during a speech.

    Everyone has lost sight of the basic roles they are supposed to play in our system. The press is supposed to be a watchdog so the citizen has a choice somewhere between submission and revolution. Unfortunately, the press in this country has chosen to be more of a lapdog to this president. Thus the debate is by necessity coarsened.

    But as Obama (and thus the press) would say, these are all distractions from the real issue of… racism?

    Why does it seem that the non sequitur is the only form of argumentation known to the Obama administration?

    [To Hayek With You: I notice you’ve commented a few times over the past weeks. I’m glad you dropped in and hope you come back, but please try to use a consistent name if you visit in the future. — DRJ]

    To Hayek With You (1e2a18)

  31. Look everybody! Congress is just like a political blog, now. One person exercises free speech, then the others chime in to say “How . . . DARE you?!”

    Icy Texan (259a85)

  32. JVW: To expand on your thought, just imagine what that 1.2M – 2M on 9/12 will be next time if the dummycrats keep this up. And, yes, I believe the electorate has short-term memory. Dummycrats keeping this stuff up will cause the short-term memory to be permanently implanted into long-term memory.

    John Hitchcock (3fd153)

  33. I make the motion we censure imdw for violating decorum.

    PCD (02f8c1)

  34. Nah, let’s just all point and yell in unison – “you lie!”

    Dmac (a93b13)

  35. It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World! Tell the truth, and you get reprimanded; tell lies, and you get elected President.

    The honest Dana (3e4784)

  36. Sounds like imdw and Jimmy Catrer got the same talking points fax.

    The snarky Dana (3e4784)

  37. I’m just glad we got this taken care of. After all, it was obviously a serious breach of decorum and needs to be addressed, even if it costs us $50,000 to let Joe Wilson know that he wasn’t very nice to the President during the meeting. Not.

    Here’s my justification:
    * Congressional salary of $174,000 works out to $87/hour using a 2,000 hour work year (just because I have to pick a number)
    * Multiply that by 435 congresscritters and you’re spending $37,845/hour for them to debate something
    * Throw in some clerks, pages, and some aides while we’re debating and call it an even $40,000/hour for debate time
    * Multiply that by an hour of debate and 15 minutes to vote and you’re at $50,000
    * Don’t forget paper and all those other important consumable supplies

    Your tax dollars at work!

    Steve (81dc80)

  38. At last! The House stands up and is counted. Senator Wilson’s behavior was reprehensible and I find it very encouraging that he was held accountable.

    Pamela (b9efac)

  39. I am proud that Pamela has managed to learn how to type. That is truly quite a feat for her. You are all reprehensible racists.

    JD (adf3eb)

  40. “Resolved, That the House of Representatives disapproves of the behavior of the Representative from South Carolina…”

    At least the punishment fits the crime.

    Dave Surls (bf420b)

  41. Pamela – Which is worse – Telling the truth for 1 second, or lying for an hour?

    JD (4d64db)

  42. Pamela wrote:

    At last! The House stands up and is counted. Senator Wilson’s behavior was reprehensible and I find it very encouraging that he was held accountable.

    Oh? And how was Representative Wilson “held accountable?” Did he lose his pay? Was he expelled from the House? Or did the Democrats simply give him more campaign contributions and a larger popularity among his constituents?

    Or, perhaps he is being held accountable by the fact that congressional negotiators are addressing the concerns he raised? 🙂

    The Dana holding Pamela's comment accountable (474dfc)

  43. JD asked Pamela:

    Which is worse – Telling the truth for 1 second, or lying for an hour?

    This was a rhetorical question, right?

    The Dana not holding his breath waiting for an answer from Pam (474dfc)

  44. From the previous thread on Congressman Wilson:

    “We are a better nation when decorum is violated to stand up for truth, than when honesty is foregone and demagogues use ‘decorum’ to cover their lies.” Travis Monitor — 9/15/2009

    I have always been impressed reading the New Testament Gospels how often Jesus responds to a “no win” question by answering with another question or by making a point that is really at the heart of the issue, and puts the one looking for the “gotcha” on the defensive.

    One can talk about how inappropriate or rude it was of Congressman Wilson to interrupt as he did, but I think Travis Monitor’s point above is the important thing.

    As far as the issue of “respecting the Presidency”, I think Congressman Wilson has that covered too. By his statement, Wilson shows he expects the President of the U.S. to tell the truth when addressing a joint session of Congress, a standard that President Obama and his party apparently don’t hold. They are the ones who disrespect the office.

    MD in Philly (d4f9fa)

  45. And…Maureen Dowd has a new column going after Wilson again. But, as usual, the Left projects like crazy. At the end of her article, MoDo writes:

    “…But partly due to the Internet, the standards of behavior in this new country are terrible….”

    Would those terrible standards include plagiarism, or simply the ease with which her plagiarism was identified via the ‘Net?

    I think the whole concept of Maureen Down complaining about “standards of behavior” is a near-dictionary definition of chutzpah.

    Eric Blair (c8876d)


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