During President Obama's address to Congress and the nation about health care reform, one congressman had to act like a fool. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-South Carolina) rudely interrupted the president's speech by shouting "You lie". Members of both parties were shocked by this reprehensible behavior.Wilson (pictured) apologized to President Obama over the phone, and the president was gracious enough to accept his apology. Wilson thought that personal apology should have been enough, and the matter should now be forgotten. He was wrong.
The president was not the only person Wilson wronged with his rude and unacceptable behavior. He also embarrassed his fellow congressmen and the institution and traditions of the U.S. Congress. He also owed a formal apology to the Congress and the American people.
But Wilson absolutely refused to apologize on the floor of the House of Representatives. Instead of properly apologizing, he is instead using his own misbehavior to play to the racist base of his party. Since he refused to do the right thing, the House of Representatives finally had to take action on their own, and properly so.
For the first time in 220 years, the House of Representatives has admonished one of it's members for misbehavior during a presidential speech to a joint session of Congress. The House showed its disapproval of Wilson's behavior with a 240-179 vote in favor of a resolution.
The resolution reads, "Whereas the conduct of the Representative from South Carolina was a breach of decorum and degraded the proceedings of the joint session, to the discredit of the House: Now, therefore, be it resolved that the House of Representatives disapproves of the behavior of the Representative from South Carolina, Mr. Wilson, during the joint session of Congress held on September 9, 2009."
Now he just owes the people of the United States a formal public apology. Hopefully the people of his House District will punish him for this refusal in November of 2010.
