Presumably, even if you didn't watch President Obama's healthcare speech on Wednesday evening last week, you still heard about the biggest story coming out of the speech. It was that Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) yelled out "You lie!" during the portion of the speech where Obama was suggesting that the current healthcare bill wouldn't provide healthcare for illegal aliens.
Rep. Wilson quickly recognized the error of his ways and called the White House the following day to officially apologize to President Obama, which the president graciously accepted.
Now, in an irony of ironies, Rep. Wilson faced a formal reprimand from the Democratically-controlled House of Representatives. It does not matter that Rep. Wilson was correct in his assessment that Obama was not being truthful concerning healthcare coverage for illegal aliens (a fact even liberal sources have come to admit).
The House rules say that Rep. Wilson did violate the rules of proper decorum. And they voted 240-179 to formally admonish the congressman. As one article pointed out,
The Office of the House Historian said the resolution, if it passes, would mark the first time in the 220-year history of the House that a member would be admonished for speaking out while the president is giving an address before a joint session of Congress.
Don't get me wrong, while I find it strangely ironic that someone has to apologize for telling the truth, it is to be expected in this politically-correct culture in which the common sense has been supplanted by the tyranny of tolerance. Moreover, while I do not dispute the content of Rep. Wilson's utterance, I do concur that his outburst was the wrong way to bring about his message.
That said, Wilson's reputation has risen nationally--either as a cult hero or villain, depending on one's political persuasion. And it has forced America to consider anew the reality of the healthcare legislation that is being thrust on the public. Right or wrong, Wilson's outburst has exposed yet another problem with the current healthcare legislation.
Now that the politicians have admonished Wilson in a display of ultimate triviality, perhaps now we can get back to actually attempting to solve the healthcare crisis. Just a suggestion...
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