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Congress Needs More Catcalls
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Issue
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| Contributor | Craverguy |
| Last Edited | Craverguy Sep 16, 2009 04:14am |
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| Category | Opinion |
| Author | Dave Lindorff |
| News Date | Tuesday, September 15, 2009 06:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Rep. “Joe” Wilson (R-SC), the cracker bigot who offended Congressional decorum by shouting “You Lie!” during President Barack Obama’s health policy address last week, claims his outburst was the result of his emotion getting the best of him. The question I have is why emotion didn’t get the best of more progressives members of Congress—those who claim to be anti-war, pro-choice, and especially to favor single-payer health care, or at least a genuine, robust publicly owned insurance program to compete with the private insurance industry.
Wilson, a former aide to racist Senator Strom Thurmond, claims he was upset that Obama was saying his health reform plan wouldn’t provide insurance coverage for illegal immigrants (though given his history, he was probably just upset that a black guy was up there in front of him giving a presidential address). But surely there were other people, on the left, who were gagging during that talk for other more rational reasons.
One of the big problems with American democracy is that the presidency has over the years been elevated to the level of a monarchy, with all the imperial trappings and pomposity formerly associated with royalty. Presidents surely should get no more respect than a prime minister, and look at the hoots and catcalls PMs have to endure when they address Parliament in the UK or even staid Canada.
That’s a good thing.
Here are a few of the things that should have elicited at least some boos or derisive laughter, instead of polite applause from the liberals in that joint session: |
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