Final: 240-179-5
Republicans: 7-167
Democrats: 233-12-5

7 Republican votes for the resolution:
Cao
Emerson
Flake
Inglis (from South Carolina)
Jones
Petri
Rohrabacher

Give Joe Money by Clicking Here

Joe Wilson’s son Alan Wilson is running for Attorney General in South Carolina.

I know nothing about Alan Wilson, but he’s Joe’s son and he’s coming under a withering attack because of what his father did.

Shortly after the revolution, colonials would abuse and often punish the sons of tories, those who had supported King George. When the Constitution was written, the Founders prohibited punishment in treason that would “work Corruption of Blood,” or punishment extended to descendants.

It is a natural tendency in the corruption of man to punish the children of those who did things wrong or perceived to have done things wrong. It’s like my neighbor heckling my 3 year old solely because she is related to me. It is part of the baser parts of human nature. And it is not right.

I don’t know Alan Wilson, but I’m willing to help him if only on the principle that neither a son nor daughter should be punished for the acts of a parent. And the hate he is getting because of his dad is wrong.

The left has made a lot of hay over Joe Wilson’s opponent’s stellar fundraising since last Wednesday. But what about Joe and what about his district?

I’m told that Wilson now has collected just under $2 million dollars online and has “mountains” of mail to be opened with lots of checks there. As I said the other day, a lot of the people who’d be most inclined to give money to Joe are people like my sister and the secretary at her church — they are ‘thank you note’ and stamp activists who’ll send Joe a nice note and check in the mail.

Those notes are just showing up and the pile of mail is flooding Joe Wilson’s office. They can’t keep up from what I hear.

But what about Joe Wilson’s district? It’s one thing to make hay out of his opponent’s fundraising, but looking at the Almanac of American Politics, it appears leftists are wasting their money.

The voters of the 2nd Congressional District have returned Joe to Congress regularly with over 60% of the vote except in 2008, which was a terrible year for Republicans. Even then, Joe Wilson beat his opponent 54% to 46%.

His opponent in 2008 was Rob Miller, who is his opponent this time too. This happened for Joe in 2004 and 2006 when his opponent was Michael Ray Ellisor.

For leftists who think they can get closer in 2010 than in 2008, consider the trend in the 2nd Congressional District. In 2000, then Congressman Floyd Spence still received 54% of the vote. In big election years, which 2000 and 2008 both were, the Republican drops to the mid-50’s in the 2nd, but still wins.

The 2nd Congressional District of South Carolina has a Cook Partisan Voting Index of Republican +9. The leftists may have lined Rob Miller’s pockets, but conservatives across American are keeping Wilson flush with cash.

Wilson will only grow in popularity in his district and will now have gobs of money to throw to other campaigns — a generosity that Wilson is known for among the Republican Conference.

Apparently some folks have encountered an intern in Eric Cantor’s office who is doing the man no favors articulating his position on Joe Wilson.

Eric Cantor was the first member of Leadership to stand with Rep. Wilson. On Sunday, he said that Rep. Wilson has already apologized, that the President accepted, and it was time to move on.

Second, earlier today, at the House GOP Conference meeting - Eric Cantor spoke to House Republicans telling them they need to stand with Rep. Wilson. The Members of the House GOP applauded. The Democrats are trying to play politics, poorly - and we will stand with our guy.

Here is a quote from Rep. Cantor’s speech:

“Eight months ago, the President stood before the nation during his inaugural and invoked Corinthians to say it’s time for us to put away childish things. It should have been a clarion call that it’s time for us to end our petty bickering and get things accomplished for the American people. That’s what we are sent here to do.

“How ironic is it that at a time when we should be debating jobs and the shape and scope of health care reform, the majority has sidetracked on a transparently political and trivial effort to demonize the opposition? The gentleman from South Carolina has apologized to the White House; The President has accepted his apology. It’s time to end the gamesmanship and get back to work on behalf of the American people.”

Nonetheless, John Boehner tells The Hill that members will be on their own if they want to vote against Joe.

GOP leader John Boehner says that House Republicans “have to make their own decisions” when the chamber votes on a resolution to disapprove of their colleague Rep. Joe Wilson’s notorious “You Lie!” outburst.

Though Boehner (Ohio) made clear on Monday that he would oppose the Democratic resolution, the leader is not going to press his membership to do likewise.

They should support Joe.

After Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC) rejected Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s ultimatum to offer a mea culpa on the floor of the House for his outburst during President Barack Obama’s address on Wednesday evening or face a formal admonishment, Democratic leaders are now moving to introduce a resolution to censure Wilson.

But Republican responses to the pending censure might explain why some prescient Democrats, perhaps guilty of similar actions under the last administration, were uneasy with assuming the role of disciplinarian: several key Democrats are weathering their own controversies, including Reps. Charlie Rangel (D-NY), chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means committee, Jack Murtha (D-PA), and Pete Visclosky (D-IN).

“Call it the Glass House of Representatives effect,” writes Politico’s Glenn Thrush.

The censure is “another stunning example of hypocrisy,” said Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele in a statement. “Congressional Democrats are wasting taxpayers’ time and resources on a legislative measure to censure Congressman Joe Wilson so they don’t have to talk about their exceedingly unpopular health care plan.”

While the proposed censure has galvanized Republican legislative opposition to the President and Speaker Pelosi, it represented low-hanging fruit for many Capitol Hill communicators – an opportunity to revive fading Democratic controversies.

“If we are going to march Members down to the well of the House to apologize, Joe Wilson is going to have to get in line behind Nancy Pelosi, who attacked the intelligence community who protects us, Charlie Rangel who cheated on his taxes, Jack Murtha – a walking scandal, and we all know how the Democratic leadership tried to protect William Jefferson” said Steele.

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Call your Congressman right now.

Tell him to stand up for Joe Wilson and oppose any punishment for Joe.

If you Congressman refuses to or won’t commit to standing up for Joe Wilson, tell him he needs to be consistent and punish Charlie Rangel.

Get the phone number to call and basic information by clicking here.

Yesterday, the Senate surprisingly adopted the Johanns Amendment (which denies ACORN HUD/transportation funds), 83-7. Obviously, House Republicans will need to introduce (and presumably pass, in a similarly lopsided manner) their own version, in order to make it clear to the Democratic-controlled reconciliation committee that this is not to be reversed when they think that nobody’s looking. This amendment will need someone to formally offer it - and clearly the choice must be Rep. Joe Wilson (R, SC).

Discuss.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to Moe Lane.

It’s time for Democrats to start issuing an apology or two of their own.

They’ve spent the past week clamoring for Congressman Joe Wilson’s apology, even though the President has accepted his apology, twice now.

While Democrats will not let up on Wilson, one person who needs to not just apologize, but step down, is Congressman Charlie Rangel. Revelations continue to show that he has ignored the country’s tax laws, which, as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, he is responsible for writing.

The Congressman continues to show his disregard for the law, and he should apologize, in addition to stepping down from his chairman position.

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Promoted by Jeff

You knew someone was going to find it.  The folks over at Mere Rhetoric have:

Now, I was no fan of President Bush’s plan to privatize Social Security (mostly because there was no “opt-out entirely” provision). However, while liberals claim that Joe Wilson’s shout during Tuesday’s speech was “unprecedented” and “racist,” we can see the Democrats were just as capable of such behavior.

And they didn’t apologize for their outbursts afterward.

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This one is one of the classiest I’ve gotten in the last 48 hours. You should see all the hate mail I’m getting — a lot of it directed at me personally for calling Joe Wilson a great American hero:

You stay classy Mr. Henry Lowe.

From: Henry Lowe hlowe1@hotmail.com
Subject: Red State conservatives
Date: September 11, 2009 8:26:19 PM EDT
To: contact@redstate.com

I pray DAILY that all of you racist, right wing conservative TRAITORS die poor, disenfranchised, and disgraced…and VERY SOON! Joe Wilson and all of you confederate TRAITORS who think like and support him should all find no safe haven in this country.

May Joe Wilson live in constant fear that he will be neutralized, at his favorite restaurant, in a shopping mall, or on a family vacation. I pray some patriot gives that racist demon what he deserves, very soon.

I see a day soon when all of you racist conservative TRAITORS will be attacked on a daily basis. I pray you are extincted politically and socially, America’s democracy depends on it. You are all a cancer on this country. May your days on this earth be days of profuse and intense suffering, and may your reservations in hell be filled very SOON! You TREASONOUS sons of bi*ches are domestic terrorists, and I pray we use the Patriot Act to rid our nation of you hypocritical, inbred, racist, ignorant scummy pigs and dogs.

I KNOW my prayers will be answered before long.

At least he didn’t use the F word like so many of the others.

You know, these emails really started pouring in after Rachel Maddow mentioned my “Great American Hero” post. I wonder if these are all Keith in disguise.

Time:

The controversy over Republican Representative Joe Wilson’s shouting “You lie!” at the President over his claim that illegal immigrants wouldn’t benefit from health-care reform apparently sparked some reconsideration of the relevant language. “We really thought we’d resolved this question of people who are here illegally, but as we reflected on the President’s speech last night, we wanted to go back and drill down again,” said Senator Kent Conrad, one of the Democrats in the talks after a meeting Thursday morning. Later that afternoon, Baucus said the group would add a proof-of-citizenship requirement for participation in the new health exchange — a move likely to inflame the left.

Wilson wins, Ben.  Oddly, in much the same way that another particular dispute was won by THAT WOMAN.

See also Hot Air, Ace of Spades, Sister Toldjah, and -  for that special extra flavor of whiny Lefty exasperation, TPMDC:

But though Wilson’s allegation was false, and the political impact has been largely negative, Democratic leaders on the Senate Finance Committee seem to think it’s worth fixing the non-existent problem Wilson was complaining about.

Seldom does one see a sentence quite so at war with itself as this one is.

Moe Lane

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Congressman Joe Wilson, R-S.C., should not have called the president of the United States a liar during the middle of a joint session of Congress. There are boundaries for decorum that should not be crossed, and Wilson crossed those boundaries. He was quick to apologize. He should have.

Wilson called the president a liar after 30 minutes of … well … a series of distortions, half-truths and lies. He should not have done it there, but I cannot really blame him.

Wilson’s outburst came right after the president said the Democrats’ health-care legislation does not cover illegal aliens. The legislation, in fact, specifically excludes illegal aliens from coverage. But the Democrats killed a Republican amendment that would have required doctors to inquire about citizenship. It is like telling a kid that it is against the law to drink, but then specifically not enforcing the law, nor providing any money or manpower to enforce the law.

President Obama’s canard on illegal aliens came moments after saying “no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions.” The Democrats have, however, already given away the game.

Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee were able, by one vote, to include specific language in H.R. 3200, the Democrats’ health-care legislation, prohibiting funding of abortions. Henry Waxman, chairman of the committee, recessed the committee, then, upon reconvening, held the vote again, and the amendment died by one vote.

The Democrats now hide behind the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits government funding of abortions specifically funded through the Department of Health and Human Services. What the Democrats fail to mention is they have structured H.R. 3200 so that any funds for their health-care plan will not come through the Department of Health and Human Services’ appropriations process. Therefore, the Hyde Amendment would not apply, and abortions can be funded.

It is no wonder Joe Wilson lost his cool.

Then there is the matter of the deficit and taxes.

You can read the rest of this, my weekly column, here.

A couple of days ago Barack Obama gave a speech for which he had demanded a prime-time joint session of Congress, an occasion nearly always reserved for national emergencies or extraordinary times. This session was called merely so Obama could mug in front of the cameras and deliver a bitterly partisan invective in hopes of shoring up badly sagging support for the unpopular Democrat proposal to force a government takeover of the health care system.

Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC) famously shouted “You Lie!” from the floor of the House Chamber as Barack Obama propounded yet another lie in a speech crammed full of insults toward mainstream America and lies about himself, his virtues, and his political opponents. While Wilson immediately apologized for his incivility and lack of decorum (not for the substance of what he said, which warms my heart), the damage was done, and most headlines featured dual storylines - the regal president and the uppity congressman.

Joe, I salute you, my brother!

Lefty outrage has been predictable, and we on the right have noted the partisan media’s typical convenient memory. Democrats were utterly boorish in their treatment of Bush, far, far beyond what Wilson did, and with less, if any, justification. Now the left and their media lapdogs have made a point of smearing Joe Wilson (the newest revelation? Caffeine junkie, much, much worse than our coke-snorting president) and driving fundraising efforts for his 2010 opponent. Apparently that guy has raised some $700,000 in the last 2 days (mostly needed to retire some $400,000 in debt). Meanwhile, RedState and other New Media have rushed to Joe’s support, both editorially and through campaign donations, and he’s raised over $200,000 himself to add to his existing $200,000 war chest.

Unlike spineless frankfurters like Trent Lott and George Allen, Joe is done apologizing and now he’s fighting back. Follow the jump…..

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My headline is as relevant to the news today as this hit job on Joe Wilson.

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), who shouted “you lie!” at President Obama during his Wednesday night address to Congress, admitted to regularly consuming caffeine pills in 2007.

It is unclear if Wilson still takes NoDoz, a brand of pill that contains 200 milligrams of caffeine a pop. By comparison, a seven ounce cup of drip coffee contains 115 to 175 milligrams of caffeine.

At least Joe’s NoDoz are legal.

The Media Matters guys are out lying today about Joe Wilson.

They are crying to everyone that the Democrats’ health care legislation specifically excludes illegal aliens from health care.

It does.

But only a confused moron like David Brock and his minion would be so vapid and shallow as to take Congress at its word (they never would if it were a Republican plan).

The Democrats have blocked specific Republican attempts to require citizenship verification to get on the government plan. Why? The State Medicaid agencies are given the ability to set eligibility standards for the low income subsidies that will be used for the plan. And they have no incentive not to enroll illegal aliens, particularly since it’s a 100% federal match.

So doctors are not required to verify citizenship because they and the states will get greater allotments the faster the rolls grow. H.R. 3200 claims to block illegal aliens from the plan, but provides incentives to ignore citizenship.

It is like telling a kid that it is against the law to drink, but then specifically not enforcing the law, nor providing any money or manpower to enforce the law.

Some of you will take offense at this post. Instead, you should take action.

The Democrat opponent to Congressman Joe Wilson has raised over $400,000.00 since last night.

What have you given to Joe Wilson. The man spoke for America. And now we need to open our wallets for Joe.

It does no good to pat Joe on the back or give him an “atta boy.” Joe Wilson needs us to open our wallets and checkbooks. Joe Wilson is now a serious threat to Barack Obama because he dared point out that the Emperor has no clothes. The left will target him. The left will target his family. The left will try to destroy Joe Wilson.

We can stop the left. But we must give generously to Joe.

Prove that conservatives are not pathetic activists. Put your money where your mouth is.

Give to Joe.

Having caused a bit of a ruckus last night of a sort unmatched in incivility and depravity since… 2005, when Democrats booed the President at his State of the Union address… Representative Joe Wilson (R, SC) wants you to know that he is very sorry if any one was offended that he pointed out that the President is a liar:

“This evening I let my emotions get the best of me when listening to the President’s remarks regarding the coverage of illegal immigrants in the health care bill. While I disagree with the President’s statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable. I extend sincere apologies to the President for this lack of civility.”

Notice that he didn’t say anything about a lack of accuracy - then again, as Legal Insurrection notes, this would be because Joe Wilson was being accurate when he called the President a liar: HR 3200 covers illegal immigrants, and every attempt to make it explicit that it wouldn’t has been blocked by Congressional Democrats.  No, it’s just that Joe Wilson recognizes that it was mean of him to wreck the President’s narrative that way by calling the President a liar.  And it was mean of him: as we saw last night, President Obama isn’t exactly what you’d call quick on his rhetorical feet when things don’t go his way.

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Carol Fowler, Chairwoman of the South Carolina Democrat Party, like her husband, is a dirt bag.

“Once again a South Carolina Republican has embarrassed our state,” Fowler said in a statement, making a nod to scandal-plagued governor Mark Sanford. “Never has any member of Congress shown such disrespect for the president during a speech.”

Really? You want to go there?

We caught Carol’s husband last year relishing the thought of a hurricane striking New Orleans during the Republican National Convention. A week later, Carol Fowler said Sarah Palin’s only qualification to be Vice President was that she hadn’t had an abortion.

Are we really going to let Carol Fowler lecture anyone on decorum? The woman is a dirtbag.

Joe Wilson has been identified as the Republican who yelled out that Barack Obama was a liar.

He gets a drink on me!

CONTRIBUTE TO JOE WILSON HERE. Joe Wilson’s opponent raised $11,000.00 in an hour after Joe Wilson stood up to Barack Obama. We must help Joe Wilson.

Bob Bennett (RINO-UT) was the only Republican who stood up and clapped when Barack Obama bashed Sarah Palin over the death panels. That jackass should be taken out in a primary.