In the middle of last night’s speech by the President, Congressman Joe Wilson (Wingnut, South Carolina) could not restrain himself from shouting out to the President, calling him a liar. This has never happened during a Presidential address to a joint session of Congress before.
Needless to say, the President was not lying about healthcare reform not covering illegal immigrants. The current bills do not.
His eruption — in response to Mr. Obama’s statement that Democratic health proposals would not cover illegal immigrants — stunned members of both parties in the House chamber.
Democrats said it showed lack of respect for the office of the presidency and was reminiscent of Republican disruptions at recent public forums on health care.
“It is outrageous,” said Representative Joseph Crowley, Democrat of New York, who said it reminded him of the “antics that are being used to disrupt and fog what is going on.”
After the speech, Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff who sat a few rows in front of Mr. Wilson, said he immediately approached senior Republican lawmakers to encourage them to identify the heckler and urge him to issue an apology quickly.
“No president has ever been treated like that. Ever,” Mr. Emanuel said.
Update: Apparently Mr. Wilson has been driven off the interwebs.