My Take on the Joe Wilson Debate

By Alberto Acereda.

During President Obama´s speech to a joint session of Congress last Wednesday night, Congressman Joe Wilson shouted to Obama “You lie.” Even today, there is growing debate about this matter.

Joe Wilson should not have called the President of the United States a liar since there are limits for decorum that our representatives should never cross. Wilson crossed the boundaries and he was quick to apologize.

At the moment he shouted “You lie”, the President was stating that his health care reform bill does not cover “illegal immigrants”. Unfortunately, President Obama was not telling the truth.

So the important thing in the Joe Wilson debate is not that Joe Wilson called Obama a liar but the fact that Obama was not being honest to Congress and to millions of American citizens.

The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service study found that the House health care bill does not restrict illegal immigrants from receiving health care coverage.

It is also a fact that Democrats have voted two times already to block proof of citizenship from the health care bill. This despite the fact that 83% of Americans say that proof of citizenship ought to be required to get government health aid.

So who is not telling the truth? Definitely, it is not Joe Wilson. President Obama should also apologize for misrepresenting the truth and the real facts to the American people.

Several media outlets and other Democrat leaders have accused Joe Wilson of acting without civility.

Now, as for civility, let us remember how Democrat Senate leader Harry Reid called President George W. Bush a “liar” and then stood by the comment. He also called Bush a “loser” in front of a group of school kids in Nevada. Was that civility?

Let us not forget the Democrats booing Bush in Congress in the January 2005 State of the Union Address as he was talking about Social Security. Was that civility?

There is also Senator Dick Durbin (Democrat) calling Bush a new kind of Hitler… Was that civility?

There is also Congressman Jack Murtha (Democrat) who never apologized for accepting the charge that the U.S. Marines at Haditha were “cold-blooded murderers” commanded by Bush. Was that civility?

And there is also former Democrat candidate for President, Senator John F. Kerry calling the troops sent by Bush to Iraq “terrorizers of women and children in their homes at night”. Was that civility?

The conclusion is that before we talk about lack of civility in the Republican side of the aisle, we should put all the facts on the table so Americans can have an honest conversation.

It does not make sense to write about the lack of civility on the part of the Republican Party when the entire world knows that we have witnessed eight years of incivility and despicable insults that came out of the mouths of Democrat congressmen against President George W. Bush.

Democratic leaders seem to have short memory spans and this same week they plan to use this matter for political reasons. Nancy Pelosi plans to propose a resolution of disapproval this week if Joe Wilson does not apologize to Congress. That would put Congress on record as condemning Wilson’s conduct.

Joe Wilson does not need to apologize again.

Alberto Acereda, Ph.D. is a Professor in the School of International Letters and Cultures at Arizona State University and a Member of the North American Academy of the Spanish Language.

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