Joe Wilson Sends a Simple Message to Obama

Have you ever watched the proceedings of the House of Parliament in Britain? It's quite a ruckus. I don't know if it goes on all the time, or just during certain speeches, but every time I've ever seen a video clip of a speech in Britain's Parliament, it's filled with all sorts of yelling and heckling. I wonder how they ever accomplish anything.

On the other hand, the halls of Congress here in the U.S. are generally civil. There may be very sharp debates, and there are times when someone is making a case for a bill or a policy and nobody is there to listen, but at least when someone has the floor, he can usually expect to be treated in a civil manner.

During last night's speech, that civility was disrupted when Obama pledged that no illegal aliens would be covered under "his" health care reform bill. Unable to contain himself, Rep. Ron Wilson called out "Liar!" I guess you gotta give the guy credit. He was calling it like he was seeing it. And let's be honest with ourselves, the speech was full of lies, including that one. It would be an interesting exercise to go back and listen to the speech counting how many lies per breath Obama was able to make.

That being said, Wilson should have kept his mouth shut. There is a time and a place, and that wasn't it. The last thing our country need (besides Obama's leftist policies) is to turn our halls of Congress into the WWE like Britain has. In spite of the fact that Congress rarely passes a good law or spending bill, at the very least we are capable of having civil debates and discussions about what is being passed. Granted, the debates and discussions as of late have been cut off so that things can be rushed through in order to prevent the United States from falling off the edge of the planet, but we are capable of having civil discourse.

Wilson did the right thing afterwards when he contacted the White House and apologized for the remark. I can't blame him too much. If I had been there, it would have been all I could do to keep my mouth shut, too. Still, the time to call Obama a liar is after the speech is over, not during.

At least if you're present in person.

I'm sure that many, many Americans were sitting at home yelling "Liar" all night long.