Republican anger over the impending health care bill spilled onto the floor of the packed Senate chamber during last night's Presidential address to both houses of Congress. Joe Wilson, a 62 year-old Republican representative from South Carolina left attendees and millions of television viewers speechless when he yelled out "Liar" or "You lie!" after President Obama debunked an oft-repeated but false accusation that the new health care bill would grant illegal immigrants access to government health benefits.
The FactCheck.org Website has already dismissed the illegal immigrant health care access charge as a myth.
Wilson's tactless emotional outburst prompted a rapid-fire reaction from online media and the soon-to-be embattled Congressman's official Website was "Down for maintenance" soon after he was identified as the heckler du jour.
I was watching the speech live on NBC and both Vice-President Joe Biden and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi looked shocked, Pelosi appeared to examine a seating chart after the comment in an effort to identify who said it.
The crude posters depicting Obama as a Nazi seen in health care rallies across America pale in comparison to Wilson's outburst, which seriously calls into question Republican's desire for honest and meaningful debate on the health care issue and will likely threaten Wilson's Congressional seat.
History buffs will recall that emotionally unstable politicians aren't new to South Carolina. Back in 1856 it was Preston Brooks a Democratic Congressman from South Carolina famously used a thick Gutta-Percha walking stick with a gold tip to viciously beat Senator Charles Sumner unconscious and bloody after taking offense at a speech Sumner made attacking Southern politicians (including President Franklin Pierce and Brook's relative, Senator Andrew Butler) for sympathizing with slavery advocates supporting bloody pro-slavery rioters in Kansas.
GOP supporters and right-wing fringe media blowhards like Rush Limbaugh and Michelle Malkin will deny the comments had anything to do with Obama being an African-American, but I can't recall ever seeing a politician call a sitting US president a liar in front of the House and Senate and millions of television viewers.
Democratic Obama supporters didn't waste time crying about it and Republicans still seem to ignore the power and reach of Internet media: A viral message urging supporters to visit the ActBlue Website to donate to the campaign of Democrat Rob Miller who is running against Joe Wilson in South Carolina's 2nd District reached my e-mail inbox about 12:58am EST.
As of 3:30am about six and a half hours after the conclusion of Obama's speech the site has raised over $40,000 for Miller under the banner of "defeating the man who yelled 'liar". Joe's gotta go.
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