The House of Representatives has officially rebuked Rep. Joe Wilson for his outburst against President Barack Obama last week.
The House of Representatives has officially rebuked Rep. Joe Wilson for his outburst against President Barack Obama last week.
According to resolution, when Rep. Wilson shouted “you lie” during Tuesday’s joint session, it was a “breach of decorum,” USA Today reports. The resolution passed by a vote 240-176 and support was largely split along the aisle, but seven Republicans voted in favor of it and 12 Democrats voted against it.
Although Wilson admitted that he expressed his opposition to President Obama’s proposed health care policies “in the wrong time and the wrong place, ” he has not publically apologized for his actions. Furthermore, he thinks the resolution is a show of “classic political game playing.”
Wilson also pointed out that he already relayed his apologies to the president through a phone call with Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s chief of staff. “People know I’m a civil person,” he insisted to USA Today. “I respect the president.”
However, some of his colleagues believe that his outburst showed otherwise. “Proper contrition has not been made,” said House Majority Whip James Clyburn. “The first sign of education is good manners.”
Meanwhile former President Jimmy Carter said Tuesday that the very public objection had nothing to do with education, rather that it was “based on racism.”
But despite the fallout from his comments, Wilson’s campaign has been given around $1.5 million since last week.
– Sonya Eskridge
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