These hypocritical bastards said "bush lied and troops died" and never once apologized for it. They want Wilson to come to the floor and apologize. He has said he's sorry in the press and tried to call Obama who wouldn't take his call. How many ways does he have to do it? Grow up Democrats....you do it all the time. In Obama's defense, he wants to let it go and says the media is making too big a deal of it.....as they always do when it is a republican. I wouldn't care as much if they did it to both sides. Need proof? Well below this article is another one......
On the House floor where President Obama spoke just a half-day earlier, two words shouted by a Republican congressman reverberated louder than the finer points of the health care debate.
House Democrats seized on House rules Thursday to demand South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson offer a high-profile apology to President Obama for shouting, "You lie," during the president's health care address.
Wilson called the White House shortly after Obama's speech to say he was out of line. The White House said early Thursday that the president accepted the apology.
But that did not put the issue to rest, and House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, also of South Carolina, asked Wilson to apologize on the House floor in front of his colleagues. The final vote of the day was held open by Democrats to give him an opportunity to do so, but he refused.
Democrats threatened to censure Wilson absent such an apology. So far they have not done it -- but even though House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said earlier that a censure was not being considered, her top deputies kept it in the mix.
House leaders debated future disciplinary steps against Wilson at a weekly closed-door strategy session in Pelosi's office Thursday.
"I want Mr. Wilson to come to the floor of the House and apologize," said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. He indicated that House leaders did not reach a conclusion on sanctioning Wilson.
"We need to figure out what to do," said one senior member of the leadership team. Another high-level House source suggested that lawmakers didn't want to let Wilson's transgression go unpunished "because of the magnitude" of the accusation directed at Obama.
In strictly political terms, Wilson's outburst appeared to be a winner for Democrats.
According to one Democratic source, Wilson's Democratic opponent Rob Miller had by mid-day Thursday received 5,000 new contributions worth about $200,000 in the aftermath of the outburst. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee was also trying to raise money off the heckling. Miller lost to Wilson in the 2008 election, 54-46 percent
Wilson's House Web site crashed after he was identified Wednesday night as the heckler and he took a beating on his Twitter page for breaching protocol. House rules expressly prohibit lawmakers from calling the president a "liar" or accusing him of "lying."
But Wilson has tried to put the genie back in the bottle after he drew immediate, widespread and bipartisan criticism Wednesday. Shortly after the speech ended, Wilson issued a written apology and spoke with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel to say he was sorry.
Obama on Thursday extended his forgiveness.
"I'm a big believer that we all make mistakes. He apologized quickly and without equivocation, and I'm appreciative of that," Obama told reporters.
In the face of persistent criticism, Republicans started to come to Wilson's defense.
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham told FOX News that Wilson should not be judged on those two words.
"He corrected his mistake. His mouth spoke before his mind," said Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., chief deputy whip.
Wilson's outburst immediately followed Obama's statement: "There are also those who claim that our reform effort will insure illegal immigrants. This, too, is false. The reforms I'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally."
House Minority Leader John Boehner said Thursday that, according to a Congressional Research Service report, illegal immigrants would indeed be covered, defending Wilson's assertion even though he called the manner in which he delivered it "inappropriate."
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs insisted Thursday that illegal immigrants would be prohibited from buying into a health insurance exchange created by the federal government.
Wilson said Thursday he wants to have a "civil discussion" on health care, calling his comments "spontaneous."
Democrats are walking a fine line in deciding whether to pursue a censure. While some Democrats want to punish Wilson, others are worried the action could distract from the health care reform effort.
Obama hinted at that view when asked about Wilson Thursday.
"I do think that, as I said last night, we have to get to the point where we can have a conversation about big, important issues that matter to the American people, without vitriol, without name-calling," he said. "The media can always be helpful by not giving all the attention to the loudest or shrillest voices and try to stay a little bit more focused on the issues at hand."
now the other article
September 10, 2009
Categories: House Republicans
Dems heckled Bush, but Wilson was different
Joe Wilson's 15 minutes of infamy notwithstanding, Democrats were pretty rough on George W. Bush during a joint sessions a few years back.
Two examples:
In 2004, Democrats delivered a “Chorus Of Boos” during Bush's Bush’s State Of The Union when he called for renewal of the Patriot Act., according to the Washington Times.
In 2005, Dems howled, hissed and shouted "No!" when Bush pushed for Social Security reform in the SOU: "Foreshadowing the contentiousness of the coming debate, Democrats broke decorum and booed twice," according to the National Journal.
At the time, CNN's Bill Schneider remarked, “It was unusual. I had never heard it at least at that level before. The Democrats clearly were booing, heckling, saying no when the president talked about the crisis in Social Security."
Moreover, Obama's claim that illegal immigrants won't be covered -- which sparked Wilson's outburst -- while technically accurate, doesn't quite tell the entire story. Some of the bills being considered in the House and Senate contain provisions locking in local statutes that prevent providers from inquiring about immigration status prior to treatment. And illegals are treated, and are bound to be treated, in ERs, covered by local, state and federal uninsured pools.
So why the outcry over Wilson?
I think it's because Congressional Republicans have used the health care debate to vent a deeper, uglier contempt for Obama that verges on the personal.
They've done little to discourage the party's fringes from questioning Obama's legitimacy to serve through the birther movement, fitness to govern through the death panel canard -- and even the territorial integrity of the US under a Democratic president through Texas Gov. Rick Perry's flirtation with secession.
Anger may stoke the base at town halls -- and goose Glenn Beck -- but it just looks ugly on the national stage.
They said Bush lied and didn't apologize
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