Joe Wilson and the conservative id
"You lie" as a symptom of the times we live in
Joe Wilson and the conservative id
Dick Polman, Inquirer National Political Columnist
At this point, congressman Joe Wilson's boorish personal insult - an unprecedented fit of insolence that violated several centuries of House protocol - has sufficiently saturated the airwaves. The moment itself need not be further recounted here. But there is still much to be said about the moment as metaphor.
In a narrow sense, the moment was truly shocking. No previous congressman in 220 years had personally insulted the president of the United States to his face during a House proceeding. Mickey Edwards, a retired Republican congressional leader, was sufficiently shocked to write that Wilson's behavior marked "a new low in politics," because "any real congressman would have known that such behavior is not permitted in a place where members are not allowed to call even other members liars without being publicly and officially rebuked." Indeed, even the typically raucous British Parliament does not permit such personal attacks; when one member calls another a liar or a coward or a traitor, or other words that are officially deemed "unparliamentary," the offender is promptly asked to withdraw the insult.
Nevertheless, in the broader scheme of things, the spectacle of a right-wing back-bencher behaving like a horse's ass was not shocking in the least. Joe Wilson wasn't doing anything new; he was behaving as so many of his brethren have behaved since the rise of Barack Obama. Because deep down they refuse to accept Obama as their legitimate leader, they naturally don't feel that they owe him the requisite respect.
This was clear even during the '08 campaign, when conservative crowds yelled things like "Traitor" and "Kill him," and no Republican bigwigs said a word about it. This was clear when liars insisted he was a Muslim. This was clear during the summer of '09. when liars insisted yet again that he was an illegitimate president who had been born on foreign soil. This was clear last spring when a Republican activist in South Carolina (Joe Wilson's state) joked that a gorilla that had escaped from a local zoo was probably one of Michelle Obama's ancestors.
So when Wilson yelled "You lie!" he was merely giving spontaneous voice to the current conservative id. Which is precisely why Republican leaders on Capitol Hill insisted that Wilson apologize; they were not comfortable seeing their most visceral emotions expressed so openly by one of their own. After all, that kind of exposure is so counterproductive; thanks to Wilson's outing of the true conservative attitude, Republicans over the past 36 hours have been forced to play defense. The Wilson story has stolen attention from the Obama health plan - and the legitimate policy questions about how to pay for it. Moreover, since Wedneasday night, Wilson's 2010 Democratic opponent has raised $700,000 from 20,000 ticked-off donors.
No, the elected Republicans would prefer that their true feelings not be exposed. They believe it's far more prudent to let Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh do all the heavy ranting, to let the town-hall foot soldiers lie with impunity and paint swastikas on Obama's photo. This way, the elected Republicans can lend their tacit support by simply remaining mum.
Such is the continued devolution of civic discourse in America. The incident on the House floor put it all in perspective. Actually, Wilson did us a favor. He cracked open the window, and gave us a peek inside the conservative mind. Thanks, Joe.
But wait...Let us not forget that his ire was also fueled by his stalwart opposition to what his website calls "government-run health care." It is certainly true that the plight of the uninsured is not exactly high on Wilson's priority list. Basically, he can't relate. Why not? Because Wilson, as a retired Army National Guard colonel, receives free medical coverage for life. Paid for by a government-run health care program.
So now we can add hypocrisy to the mix. Thanks for nothing, Joe.
According to Edward Sebesta, a leading researcher on the neo-Confederate movement and its ties to mainstream politicians, “The SCV tries to present a face of ‘heritage,’ historical nostalgia, to the public, but the articles in the ‘Southern Mercury’ show a group that is seething with an extremist reaction to a changing world. With Obama the SCV members are confronted by a very visible sign that their idea of a world, or even their locality, being one where Reactionary white Christian men should dominate, is nearing an end, if not over.”— the stupid does burn- stupid- that is really interesting. Do you have a proof source to back up your claim?
Joe Wilson is no Joe LOUIS- But you're already paying for illegal immigrants' healthcare. You just have the luxury of pretending you're not b/c its a hidden cost. And you will continue to pay for some aliens' healthcare whether or not you're able to derail another healthcare overhaul. Illegal aliens are a red herring in this debate. They are among the 'uninsured' we're talking about. If you want to build fences in Texas and kill aliens, please don't drag that into the healthcare debate.
- Stupid- You are harboring a lot of anger. However ridiculous civil war battle renactments are I think you reaching quite a bit. Ok so Joe Wilson is the conservative boogeyman. You go get em! You do know though that Democrat Roberty Byrd, Senator of W. Virginia actually was in the Klan. right?
Comment removed.- I like what this guy did, and I sent money to his campaign. Obama is a liar and a racist. Wake up people.— jphil
- I do not ignore Congress' shameful vote by any stretch of the imagination, but any protests or concerns from Congress about the veracity of Bush's info or the wisdom of acting against a country that didn't even threaten the US were quickly derided as unpatriotic. Action was a foregone conclusion by the time the vote took place, evidenced by the republicans deftly twisting a vote against sending troops into unnecessary wars into 'not supporting the troops.' Of course Congress should have maintained or gotten a backbone and continued to call Bush and Cheney the liars that they have since been proven to be. But that's not politics. So, I'm saying apply the same M.O.: trample any and all republican protests to healthcare reform.
- Stupid- I must say that you have a very fitting user name. In case on anyone wants any facts on what Stupid is ranting about here is some information on Sons of the Conferacy from wikepedia...............The Sons of Confederate Veterans describes its mission as "preserving the history and legacy of [Confederate] heroes, so future generations can understand the motives that animated the Southern Cause."[3] Stephen D. Lee's 1906 charge to the SCV is widely cited by the organization as one of its organizing principles: "To you, Sons of Confederate Veterans, we will submit the vindication of the cause for which we fought. To your strength will be given the defense of the Confederate soldier's good name, the guardianship of his history, the emulation of his virtues, and the perpetuation of those principles he loved. Remember, it is your duty to see that the true history of the South is presented to future generations."[7] Perhaps the SCV's most well-known activities involve the organization's campaigns to keep parks commemorating the Confederacy from being renamed or rededicated to non-Confederate themes.[8] The organization uses Confederate parks for rallies. The SCV has protested against Ku Klux Klan rallies in the same parks, arguing that the KKK should not be identified with the Confederacy.[9]
- @ no shootouts....please note your post is flawed...trampling over republican protests over healthcare will not be enough. Over half the country is still opposed, and my guess is there are many many dems with the same questions repubs have. I am not against reform, I am against the manner in which this president is going about it.— jphil
- The problem with Obama's Healthcare plan is that the majority of Americans are against it. It is not going to matter how many times he gives a speech about it. What we have is an unpopular president trying to pitch an unpopular policy. No one is buying it and he shouldn't be selling it.— ModerateMike
- Comment removed.
- Thank you Mr Polman for repeating a tale that the web site SNOPES has already PROVEN to be false... that Hundreds of conservatives were screaming TRAITOR and KILL HIM. Your attempt to become the next Rush windbag is well on its way.— wxdavid
- The president admitted the program he's proposing will cost $900 billion (down from over a trillion for his original proposal) over 10 years. So how will he pay for it without increasing the deficit? For starters, he claims he can pay for expanded health care benefits for the elderly by eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse -- but if it were that simple, why do we need major new legislation? Why not just sic the Justice Department or the inspector general at Health and Human Services on Medicare providers who are cheating the government now?— ModerateMike
- "The president repeated his promise that his plan won’t add “one dime” to the federal deficit. But legislation offered so far would add hundreds of billions of dollars to the deficit over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office." From Fact check.org...... So the President actually was telling some tall tales the other night.— ModerateMike
Cited by the Columbia Journalism Review as one of the nation's top political reporters, and lauded by the ABC News political website as "one of the finest political journalists of his generation," Dick Polman is a national political columnist at the Philadelphia Inquirer. He is on the full-time faculty at the University of Pennsylvania, as "writer in residence." Dick has been a frequent guest on C-Span, MSNBC, CNN, NPR and the BBC. He covered the 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004 presidential campaigns.
ARCHIVES
All commentaries posted before April 18, 2008, can be accessed at www.dickpolman.blogspot.com.
- American Spectator
- David Limbaugh
- Free Republic
- Glenn Reynolds
- Hugh Hewitt
- Human Events
- John Hawkins
- Matt Lewis
- Michelle Malkin
- National Review
- Opinion Journal
- Power Line
- Red State
- The Brody File
- The Daily Caller
- Town Hall
- Weekly Standard
- Center for American Progress
- Crooks and Liars
- Daily Kos
- David Corn
- Huffington Post
- Media Matters
- Mojoblog (Mother Jones)
- Open Left
- Political Animal
- Salon's War Room
- Talking Points Memo
- Tapped
- The Democratic Strategist
- The Grey Matter
- Unclaimed Territory
- Andrew Sullivan
- Attytood
- Chi Tribune's The Swamp
- CJR's Campaign Desk
- CNN's Political Ticker
- CQ Politics
- FactCheck.org
- Gail Collins
- Howard Kurtz
- Mickey Kaus
- NBC's First Read
- Obit
- Political Wire
- Politico
- Politics Daily
- Pollster.com
- Real Clear Politics
- The Atlantic Wire
- The Fix
- The Moderate Voice
- The Plank
- USA Today On Politics
- Wonkette
