By Paul Kane and Ben Pershing
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, September 15, 2009 5:38 PM
In a rare action, the House rebuked one of its members Tuesday for shouting "you lie" at President Obama last Wednesday, ending a week-long standoff during which Democrats demanded a public apology that the lawmaker refused to give.
On a largely party-line vote, the House voted 240 to 179 to ratify a "resolution of disapproval" against Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) for interrupting Obama's speech last week before a joint session of Congress. Just 12 Democrats opposed the resolution against Wilson, while seven Republicans supported the disapproval motion. Five Democrats voted "present," rather than cast a yes or no vote.
During the hour-long debate, Wilson refused to apologize, saying his private phone call to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel was sufficient because Obama himself said the matter was closed the day after his speech.
"It is clear to the American people that there are far more important issues than what we are dealing with now. . . . [Obama] graciously accepted my apology, and this issue is over," Wilson said in brief remarks.
Wilson said Democrats had "provoked partisanship" through their health-care proposal, which he has called a "government takeover" of private insurance. His interruption of Obama came as the president said illegal immigrants would not benefit from his legislation, a point of sharp contention among Democrats and some Republicans.
But House Democrats responded that Wilson's call to a presidential aide was insufficient because he had violated chamber rules forbidding such remarks directed at colleagues or the president. "This is about the rules of this House and reprehensible conduct," said House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.), who led the effort to rebuke Wilson.
House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), who introduced the resolution with Clyburn, said that allowing the Wilson remarks to stand would set a precedent encouraging other lawmakers to behave in similar fashion.
A resolution of disapproval is the softest form of punishment that the House administers to its members. The Wilson resolution was just three paragraphs, concluding: "Whereas the conduct of the Representative from South Carolina was a breach of decorum and degraded the proceedings of the joint session, to the discredit of the House: Now, therefore, be it resolved, that the House of Representatives disapproves of the behavior of the Representative from South Carolina, Mr. Wilson, during the joint session of Congress."
But the debate over Wilson has grown far beyond a simple two-word remark made by a back-bench lawmaker in the minority, someone whom Hoyer called a friendly colleague who had never sought the national spotlight before last week. It has encapsulated the increasing partisan tensions of the health-care debate, while also igniting tensions over the treatment of illegal immigrants, and prompted many black lawmakers to suggest Obama was being treated so harshly because some voters could not accept him as the first black president.
In the last six days Wilson and his likely Democratic opponent in his 2010 reelection battle, Iraq veteran Rob Miller, have both raised more than $1.5 million through a frenzy of small-dollar donations pouring into their campaign accounts, according to Democratic and Republican aides. That haul of more than $3 million in less than a week doubles the amount of money Wilson and Miller raised over the two-year election cycle in their 2008 race, when Miller won with 54 percent of the vote.
"This is nothing more than a partisan stunt," House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said during the debate.
Some members of the Congressional Black Caucus linked Wilson's shout to the heightened rhetoric from conservative activists, many of whom have carried signs at protest rallies linking Obama to Adolf Hitler. "I guess we'll have folks putting on white hoods and robes again and riding through the countryside intimidating people," Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), a CBC member, told reporters Tuesday afternoon. "That's the logical conclusion if this kind of attitude is not rebuked. That's why I'm for this resolution."
Republicans fiercely rejected this accusation, saying Wilson's remark was part of a legitimate opposition to the health-care legislation. "It has nothing to do with race. Joe Wilson is a patriotic American," Rep. Candace Miller (R-Mich.) said during the debate.
Wilson is only the second member to be punished this decade by the full House, the last time being a near-unanimous resolution expelling James Traficant (D-Ohio) in July 2002 after his federal bribery and corruption conviction. Prior to that, the last previous time the full House voted to punish a sitting member was January 1997, when then-Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) was reprimanded and fined for ethical breaches involving fundraising activities, the teaching of a college course and a multimillion-dollar book deal, according to the Congressional Research Service.
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