Your morning jolt: Joe Wilson’s bad day

So there was Barack Obama, addressing a joint session of Congress _ when suddenly a town hall meeting broke out.

Joe Wilson

The president had just called out Sarah Palin _ though not by name _ and others who claimed the Democratic plan for health care reform would create death panels. “That’s simply a lie,” Obama said.

Republican members of Congress sat on their hands.

The president then moved on to pronounce his health care proposal free of benefits for illegal immigrants.

“You lie!” shouted U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, a fiery Republican from Lexington County, S.C., one of the most conservative areas of that conservative state. He has, in the past, had trouble controlling what passes beyond his teeth.

Not a good moment for Republicans out to protray themselves as the rational, cool-headed protectors of American health care.

This from First Read at MSNBC:

Remember how conservatives were able to turn Cindy Sheehan into someone very difficult for the anti-war Democrats in Congress to support during the Bush years? Well, Wilson could end up providing that kind of symbolism. In short, he gave voice — literally — to the president’s attempts to paint some of his opponents as shrill.

Anyone watching saw Obama’s reaction. “Not true,” he said, then continued his promise to confront those who misrepresent his health care initiative.

Various news agencies _ the Associated Press, Bloomberg, the New York Times _ cast their eyes around the U.S. House chamber. USA Today was the first to publish a photo of Wilson in the act. From the New York Times:

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.

From Politico:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi directed a fierce frown at [Wilson]; first lady Michelle Obama pursed her lips and shook her head from side to side. Vice President Joe Biden looked down and shook his head too…. Wilson appeared to consult his Blackberry for much of the rest of Obama’s speech. He shook his head defiantly after several of the president’s statements. When Obama finished, Wilson bolted from the chamber.

From USA Today:

The remark was clearly audible on the floor and the galleries above. “Heads snapped,” said House Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y. “I’ve been here a long time,” added the New York Democrat, a 23-year House veteran. “I’ve never heard anyone accost a president like that.” Rep. David Dreier, of California, the top-ranking Republican on the House Rules Committee, had a similar reaction. “I cringed,” he said. “I think it’s just unfortunate.” Wilson, in his fifth term, told a town-hall-style meeting last month that bipartisanship is key to resolving the nation’s health care problems. “I give a speech every day on the floor (of Congress) about how Democrats and Republicans should be working together to reform health care,” The State newspaper in South Carolina quoted Wilson as saying.

Again from Politico:

Within 15 minutes after Obama wrapped up his remarks, Wilson’s website server had crashed and his Wikipedia page had been locked on account of “vandalism.” In an interview with CNN immediately after the president’s address, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) called Wilson’s behavior “totally disrespectful,” and joined a chorus of Democrats calling on the congressman to apologize. Wilson’s office soon followed with a statement expressing regret for the outburst. “This evening I let my emotions get the best of me when listening to the President’s remarks regarding the coverage of illegal immigrants in the health care bill,” Wilson said. “While I disagree with the President’s statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable. I extend sincere apologies to the President for this lack of civility.”

This wasn’t the first walk-back for Wilson. In a 2004 debate over Iraq, he questioned the patriotism of Rep. Bob Filner (D-Calif.), calling him “viscerally anti-American.”

The same year Wilson trash-talked Sen. John Kerry, calling on him to apologize for the testimony the future presidential candidate gave to a Senate committee in 1971 about the Vietnam war. Former U.S. Sen. Max Cleland quickly noted that Wilson had avoided fighting in the war by receiving a student deferment.

In public, at least, Wilson’s Republican colleagues weren’t about to offer solace.

“I’m embarrassed by that,” U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss told my AJC colleague Bob Keefe. “That shouldn’t have happened.”

U.S. Rep. John Lewis passed his judgment this morning:

“I have seen every President address a joint session of Congress in the past 23 years, in good times and bad. I have never heard any member of Congress yell out during a speech and call the President a liar. This kind of disrespect should not be tolerated, and I am hoping that the Republican Conference will take some action. If they do not act, then I think the Democratic Caucus should respond to this kind of disregard for the office of the President.”

Beyond Wilson, there were other scenes that my colleague Mr. Keefe found worth noting on Wednesday night:

_ Chambliss somehow got seated next to Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Alabama), who is Georgia’s staunchest opponent in the tri-state water war.

Chambliss gave Shelby a playful jab in the stomach before Obama’s began speaking. Later, they joked about the water situation, making light of Obama’s health care plans.

“I told him we ought to figure out some way to figure out a way to pay for it through Medicare,” Chambliss said later.

–U.S. Rep. David Scott (D-Atlanta) isn’t a senior member of Congress, but he somehow wrangled one of the best seats in the House for the president’s speech.

Scott sat in the very front row, just to the right of the president and ahead of luminaries such as Sen. John Kerry and Sen. Daniel Inouye, one of the longest serving members of Congress.

Contacted later, Scott first indicated he got the seat because of his work on health care reform – but then acknowledged that he happened to be in the right place at the right time.

“They asked me to sit there,” he said.

_ U.S. Reps. Tom Price of Roswell, Paul Broun of Athens and Phil Gingrey of Marietta, were among some Republicans who brought props with them to Wednesday night’s speech.

Whenever the president mentioned he was open to discussion and input from Republicans, they held up copies of Republican-sponsored alternatives to the Democrats’ health care reform bill – including the alternative drafted by the Republican Study Committee, a conservative House caucus that Price chairs.

“After talking at Republicans tonight, we can only hope that the President will now talk with Republicans about our patient-centered ideas for positive health care reform,” Price said in a statement after the speech.
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