Who’s the liar?

For those of you who missed the president’s speech to joint members of Congress last week, you probably heard about Joe Wilson’s outburst.

The representative from South Carolina interrupted Obama’s speech, shouting “You lie!” while the president was assuaging concerns that no illegal immigrants would receive health care from the government.

So while the interruption by Wilson was not a responsible or sensible action, it is the subsequent actions of the Democratic party that have been the most outrageous.

Instead of handling the outburst in a proper social manner, the Democrats have actually “formally rebuked” Wilson for his statement during the address. This rare resolution was voted on 240-179 generally along party lines as a way to discipline Wilson for what he said.

This is the first time in the 220-year history of the House that this kind of disciplinary action has been introduced.

Many Republicans ignored the vote entirely, calling it a waste of taxpayer money.
A formal rebuke does seem a little heavy-handed for the situation. Directly after the incident, Wilson called the president to apologize for his behavior.

According to him, the president accepted his apology and, in Wilson’s eyes, the situation was put to bed.

However, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was not satisfied with a personal apology to the president and instead wanted to see Wilson on the House floor to deliver a public apology there.

When Wilson refused, disciplinary action began.

Apparently, the Democrats are having a little trouble getting over the drama. The resolution they passed states that Wilson’s action was a “breach of decorum and degraded the proceedings of the joint session, to the discredit of the House.”

Apparently, no one in Congress has ever been to a college basketball game.
It seems rebuking this one Republican is not enough to appease the appetite of the Democrats.

Now House Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., has found it necessary to release a primer concerning appropriate conduct on the floor.
Included in it are acceptable insults to the executive branch, which include “disgrace” and “nitwits.”

Such verbal abuse as “liar” or “sexual misconduct” are unacceptable and, according to recent history, grounds to be formally rebuked.

The list of politically correct insults continues to get more detailed, with written permission in the primer to refer to government as “something hated, something oppressive” or to call a presidential message a “disgrace to the country.”

On the no-no list is labeling the president as a “hypocrite,” “coward” or calling him “intellectually dishonest.”

As a citizen of this fine country, I am comforted to know what names my representatives may or may not call the president.

It does not remedy such issues as the economy or the war in Iraq, but it certainly guarantees political correctness in Congress.

And, above all, it explains why Democrats cannot seem to pass a health care bill.
How could they, when they’re this easily distracted?