Joe Wilson House Resolution Expected This Afternoon

It looks like there will be a resolution on the floor of the House this afternoon reprimanding Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), he of the "You lie!" outburst during President Obama's address to a joint session of Congress last week.

Wilson's intemperate remark came shortly after Obama stated in his speech that no Democratic health-care proposal would cover illegal immigrants ... a discussion that followed the president denouncing the "lies" some opponents of health-care overhaul were spreading.

Republicans agreed that Wilson's outburst was out of line. Under pressure from party leaders, his office issued an apology that same night, and Wilson himself called the White House to apologize, reaching Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. Obama said he accepted the apology.

But Wilson has refused to apologize any further, and that includes on the House floor. And that's why Democrats are offering today's sanction.

And then there's the issue of race, which many African-Americans say was behind Wilson's comment. Washington Post's Paul Kane writes this morning that while Obama and Speaker Nancy Pelosi were ready to "move on," they decided to yield to black lawmakers, such as House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC), "who argued that Wilson's remark was a breach of conduct that must not be tolerated." The resolution, of course, "risks escalating the partisan warfare that has erupted since Wilson's outburst." More Kane:

Clyburn has not publicly called Wilson's remark racist, but he told reporters immediately after the speech that Obama is the only president to have been treated in such a manner.

Some black lawmakers were more direct.

Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.), who received hate mail from constituents during Congress's August break, said Wilson had just returned from the rowdy town hall forums at which the most heated accusations were leveled at Obama.

"I think he was caught up in a moment. The issue is: Would he have done that if the president were white?" Scott said, adding that few Republicans opposed the "level of rhetoric" against Obama in August. "We've got to realize racism is playing a role here. I'm hopeful that this will be a wake-up call for us to get it off the table."

Some Democrats are saying that singling out Wilson could help the Republicans. Columnist Michael Kinsley, writing in yesterday's Post, dismisses Wilson's apologies as insincere. But he says that the Democrats should be "the class act here and just drop it":

After years of obscurity, this man is having the time of his life, relishing his newfound celebrity and raking in the campaign contributions, too. The more times he is required to write "I will not call the President a liar" on a special blackboard set up in the well of the House, the bigger hero he will become to a large chunk of the population. And, of course, forcing him to grovel will not help to convince him or his supporters that the president is not a liar.

Speaking of campaign contributions: Wilson has raised almost $750,000 since last Wednesday night. His likely Democratic opponent, Rob Miller, has raised more than $1 million in that same time period.

Both Sides Now. Here's two points of view, as expressed by these blog comments in today's Washington Examiner:

From "Sevee":

Pure and simple, Joe Wilson is a closet racsist who couldn't hold back any longer. Whether you agree or disagree, any president deserves and is entitled to RESPECT. As a military man he would have been court martialed if he had called his superiors in the military liars, and Barak Obama is the Commander in chief of our armed forces. He should be thrown out of Congress. There is no place in our Congress for people like him.

From "Jack Adams":

You gotta' love the Dems. Charlie Rangel is still chairman of the most powerful committee in the House after filing phony financial reports, in other words lying to Congress, repeatedly over the years, and they decide to go after the guy who called the guy at the podium, aka Barak Obama a liar after Barak called his opponents "liars" from the podium. and they wonder about their approval rating being lower than used-car salesmen?

That Nut Is My Husband! In a new Web ad from Wilson's re-election campaign, Roxanne (Mrs. Joe) Wilson is shown defending her husband. She also says she told him, "Joe, who's the nut that hollered out 'You lie?'"

Positively Weird Street. The Disgruntled Dylanologist, a blog dedicated to "what's going on in this country" as well as stuff about Bob Dylan -- go figure -- writes that in Wilson's outburst there was an:

... eerie resemblance to the infamous 1966 concert in Manchester, England, at which a disgruntled folk fan called Dylan, "Judas!" for 'betraying' the movement. And while Keith Butler's comment certainly struck a chord in the otherwise unflappable singer, Dylan's indignant, ireful response was pitch perfect-- "I don't believe you. You're a LIAR!!" he snarled before quickly turning to The Hawks and defiantly instructed them to "Play f@@ing loud!"

I don't know why I didn't think of that.