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House GOP Seizes Political Opportunity In Floor Debate On Wilson Disapproval


Rep. John Boehner (R-OH)

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In a clear sign that Republicans intend to turn the disapproval vote against Joe Wilson into a rallying cry for their own base, far more Republicans than Democrats have been speaking during the floor debate on the resolution.

The subject of their talk: That the American people are done with this and don't want to talk about it anymore. The message here is that the Dems are wasting time with the proceeding, and abusing their power to persecute Wilson.

"There is definitely a sense that House Republicans aren't dealing with the same hot potato they were dealing with on Thursday morning after the president's speech," a GOP leadership aide just told me. "The president's acceptance of Joe Wilson's apology has left the Democrats looking petty and possibly on the verge of overreach. The fact that White House has now adopted some of Wilson's policy proposals is evidence that this is no longer the political loser Democrats once thought it would be just a few days ago."

The only Democrats who spoke during the debate were House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC). They spoke about the breach of decorum that Wilson committed, and that the House has to set an example to the country.

By contrast, a steady stream of Republicans spoke:

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) said that if Wilson were to be admonished, then Congress should be doing it every day to multiple members -- including Democrats.

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor held up a copy of the health care bill, seeking to demonstrate that Wilson was right on the substance of illegal immigration -- that illegals would not be prevented from receiving federal aid, due to a lack of enforcement capability.

Other members who spoke included Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL) and Mike Pence (R-IN). The theme was the same in all cases: That Joe Wilson is a good man who made a mistake, apologized to the person he injured, and now the Democrats are piling on in a partisan move.

Comments (17) | Join the Conversation!

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September 15, 2009 5:21 PM   

Eric, This post is overblown. Most Americans don't care about all this insider debate. They will hear the vote happened -- and most think Wilson was wrong -- and we will all move on. Certainly there is no particular enduring advantage in any of this, except to Wilson himself, because all the media pay so much attention to him.

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mcc

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September 15, 2009 5:55 PM    in reply to Theda Skocpol

What I see Eric doing here is relaying the mindset of the GOP insiders. It is useful to know what the GOP is thinking even when-- maybe especially when-- what they are thinking is nonsense.

Perhaps this post would have been clearer with a blinking subtitle at the bottom saying "THIS IS WHAT REPUBLICANS ACTUALLY BELIEVE".

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mcc

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September 15, 2009 5:21 PM   

It seems like if the Dems have any sense, they'll be saving the C-SPAN footage here and making political ads out of them ASAP...

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September 15, 2009 5:24 PM   

Well, whatever. The "You lie" is going to be used in campaign footage.

And if the Republicans think the Dems are wasting time on this, WHY ARE THE REPUBLICANS DRAGGING IT OUT?

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September 15, 2009 6:05 PM    in reply to CT Voter

That was my first thought, too.

"..the American people are done with this and don't want to talk about it anymore." So we will. Ad nauseum.

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September 15, 2009 5:26 PM   

Ooooh, a nameless GOP aide says this is a Republican winner. Thanks for sharing that breathless bit of inside baseball.

What Hoyer and Clyburn said is that Wilson offended the body by breaking the House rules and did not take the opportunity he was given to apologize to his colleagues in the House.

Sad when a member of the House of Representatives can make Kanye West look like a class act.

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September 15, 2009 6:16 PM    in reply to oskieoskie

A nameless GOP aide told McCain, "Palin was a winner".

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September 15, 2009 5:28 PM   

What political opportunity is that Eric? Seriously

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September 15, 2009 5:42 PM   

On the verge of Overreach?!

Good golly, they're playin' my tune!

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September 15, 2009 5:57 PM   

God forbid Democrats might appear partisan. But typical that Democrats wouldn't have the guts to speak up.

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September 15, 2009 6:13 PM   

So, since when is the GOP spin of enough import to create a whole post about it?? The GOP complains about the "waste of time" when the ego-monger Wilson just had to say "I'm sorry half way convincingly." Since he obviously doesn't mean it now.

The Dems are playing this right. There is the party of adults who insist on limits on barbarian behavior, and there is the party of the screamers, the birthers, the deathers, who simply want chaos, divisiveness,and hate. I've always wanted to see the Dems be the party of law and order since Nixon, and they have that opportunity now.

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September 15, 2009 6:41 PM   

Time to move on? Gee, for a party that couldn't stop beating the Chappaquiddick and Hanoi Jane dead horses for 40 years, they're awfully quick to want to change the subject all of a sudden.

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September 15, 2009 6:50 PM   

Sadly, my GOP rep voted against and he will be hearing from me. I don't understand how this was ever anything but a slam dunk-politics or not. How in the hell anyone voted against is beyond me. Democrats voting against? So much for a post-partisan world. Jeebus.

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September 15, 2009 9:04 PM   

The bombardment of American fists at the doors of Congress must be heard, to make E-Verify a permanent illegal immigrant enforcement tool? It's incredulous that we are winning small wars against our lawmakers beneficiaries--the special interest lobby. LEGISLATORS ARE FINALLY HEARING OUR ANGRY VOICES. Rep. Joe Wilson C-SC opened the eyes of millions of Americans, who are been left unaware of the cloaked--AMNESTY--committees that is going to rip the fabric of every voters life apart. I do not condone Rep.Joe Wilson (R-SC) outburst in the full Congress. But Rep. Wilson was--CORRECT! Unless there is some efficient mechanism to identify illegal immigrants applying for the government health care, such as revised E-Verify? They cannot be detected and delivered to ICE. Just indicating illegal immigrants wasn't qualified in the wording is a waste of time, just like the billions spent on these people annually There's also language in the senate bill that states that if one family member is an American citizen (anchor baby) then the entire household will be eligible for coverage. Any detail in the national media has been subdues or intentionally omitted, as with the crowds of Tea Party opponents. Sen. Harry Reid could be stretching his neck out for the headsman in his re-election campaign, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. They both have used their political influence in trying to overturn E-Verify. Pro-Illegal alien lawmakers could table it, under the "Sunset Provision" on September 30?

President Obama's direction towards an unmentionable path to citizenship for all those who broke our law is abhorrent. After the controversial eruption in the Session of Congress, they surely must be aware that imposing immigration reform on the people could break them? Americans taxpayers are already supporting business welfare? Corporate entities want these destitute people here to exploit, but don't want to pay for their health care, schooling or towards the massive numbers surviving in prison. They leave that to the fading middle class taxpayers who carry the tax burden? Over a decade has passed since illegal people started coming here in droves and with little or no laws, to blockade their arrival we are now talking over 20 million. Nor does it stop there? Owing to the clarion call of Amnesty ringing out in the slums and ghetto's of foreign criminals, sick, elderly and those without means, from all over the world will descend on us. IT MEANS OVERPOPULATION?


Bad as it may be now, who is going to subsidize the new arrivals? Not the business cartels that’s for sure? Once again taxpayers will be heavily taxed to pay for the new shipment of poor, uneducated from every region. How can we expect to have any government public option for our own people, when our gates remain wide open for "Anchor Babies" and the illegal millions expecting a free handout? A nurse in a Nevada hospital indicated they have a row of beds of illegal immigrants on dialysis, which was costing weekly $18.000 dollars for each treatment. Tell me who pays for that? The US government pays a small portion; the rest is acquired from the hospital or taxpayer.

I want a single payer system for homeless veterans, seniors, single mothers with children and poor American families. But I refuse to pay for everybody who climbs, crawls under the fence or bluffs the Federal officer at shipping ports and airports of entry. It's not our responsibility. DON'T WAIT! PESTER YOUR SENATOR OR REPRESENTATIVE TODAY AT 202-224-3121? Find true facts by GOOGLING NUMBERSUSA, JUDICIAL WATCH & IMMIGRATION COUNTERS

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September 16, 2009 6:52 AM   

Many illegal aliens refuse to seek medical help, no matter how ill they may be, because they are afraid that hospital workers will turn them in. That's just a fact, yet I don't hear any Christian organizations bemoaning the inhumanity of letting serious ill people suffer with out any medical care.
By the way, if you go to the web site of the American Bar Association, you can read a report by their taxation committee indicating that illegal aliens pay many millions into our social security and medicare programs, yet are ineligible for those benefits. They thereby subsidize the benefits of many who demonize and accuse them of freeloading on our medical benefits. But apart from that fact, there is a striking absence of common humanity in these cries to forbid medical attention to our nation's favorite scapegoat, the undocumented
immigrants among us.

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September 16, 2009 6:58 AM   

This hissing and yapping from the Reptile Party will not abate. They thrive on diversions and love to intone their nonsense because it heartens them in their desire to completely destroy whatever was decent about America, whatever was generous, broad-minded and kind. Whatever was liberal.

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September 16, 2009 9:53 AM   

Their base is their base. It's always been that core of 30% that would believe them if they said the moon was made of green cheese and the stars and planets revolved around the Earth. So, if the Wilson outburst and disapproval plays to that base, well what else is new. It's just preaching to the choir.

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