Apologies Just Aren't What They Used To Be

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Other Politics
Posted on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 05:59:21 PM EST
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So the Republican congressman who yelled at the President apologized last night and called the White House to apologize and all that, but remorse seems a fleeting concept for Republicans:

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) just appeared with local talk-radio host Keven Cohen on WVOC radio in Columbia, South Carolina, where he explained how it was that he came to yell "You lie!" during President Obama's speech to Congress -- and he also said that he's received support from his colleagues in Congress, and even from Democrats. Wilson said that overall, he's gotten a positive reception. "It's been truly incredible, the phones have run off the hook at home in all offices, and the e-mails, the vast majority have been very favorable."

. . . I'm very, very appreciative of the outpouring of support."

Allrighty then. So I guess that regret Wilson expressed was well, a lie. Got it.

Speaking for me only

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Apologies Just Aren't What They Used To Be | 46 comments (46 topical)

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Well (5.00 / 2) (#1)
by Ga6thDem on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 06:03:46 PM EST

all I've got to say is where are the creative class PPUS people? These are the people that we were constantly admonished to hold their hand and be nice to. Man, some of these people should spend a year or more in the south to realize exactly what we're dealing with here.

Never lived in the South (5.00 / 2) (#14)
by Steve M on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 06:51:33 PM EST

but I recall that Jesse Helms didn't exactly get turned out of office for saying Bill Clinton "better have a bodyguard" if he ever came to North Carolina. I daresay that was a lot more offensive than calling someone a liar!


I would love to see more of the South (5.00 / 1) (#16)
by nycstray on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 07:06:00 PM EST

but from paying too much attention to politics, I fear I would just plain ol' get in trouble down there! :O I think there's a reason I've always lived in CA or NY, lol!~


Nah, (5.00 / 1) (#20)
by Ga6thDem on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 07:15:57 PM EST

you'd be okay. I've managed to survive in this environment but it does drive me crazy and the ignorance about some basic facts drives me crazy.


Nah, come on down (none / 0) (#29)
by Militarytracy on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 10:47:15 PM EST

Bring your Yankee self with some cash. There is a lot of history to see and experience. I love Savannah. Can't wait to go back. They're broke down here therefore tolerate us. Just know though that you will never rise higher than Yankee trash :)


They treated me just fine... (none / 0) (#42)
by kdog on Fri Sep 11, 2009 at 09:19:58 AM EST

down in Tallahassee when I lived there...good people. Politicians are lousy all over.


: You consider Tallahassee "South"? (none / 0) (#46)
by Militarytracy on Fri Sep 11, 2009 at 10:15:15 PM EST

Cuz I don't

Very true. (none / 0) (#19)
by Ga6thDem on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 07:14:33 PM EST

I had forgotten that one. Somehow the GOP had gotten a kinder gentler face with a lot of the creative class.


: Yeah (none / 0) (#37)
by cal1942 on Fri Sep 11, 2009 at 04:13:45 AM EST

and remember it was us Clinton, Edwards, whatever people who were called low-information voters.

"Exactly what we're dealing with here" (none / 0) (#35)
by prittfumes on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 11:20:15 PM EST

is the hypocrisy that unfortunately is all too common in today's political environment. Harry Reid sort of apologized for calling GWB a loser but refused to apologize for calling him a liar. Why denigrate an entire region of the country because a congressman made an extremely stupid comment at the most inappropriate of times?

: Because (none / 0) (#40)
by Ga6thDem on Fri Sep 11, 2009 at 05:19:11 AM EST

unfortunately it's all too common. And the majority of his constituents support his behavior if the PPP poll is to be believed.
I hear people whine and complain about how people people in the rest of the country look down on the south. And they do an it's not always right BUT I also tell the same people that they are respnosible for a lot of this attitude when they elected people like Wilson to reprsent them. I mean waht kind of reputation does Texas have after GWB?

I would speculate (5.00 / 1) (#3)
by andgarden on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 06:07:32 PM EST

that this is probably good politics in his white majority South Carolina district. PPP is running a poll now, so we should know soon.

His Dem opponent has gotten over (5.00 / 1) (#10)
by nycstray on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 06:43:48 PM EST

400k (nighttime news report) since his lil' outburst. I even got an email from Wes Clark about this and his opponent. Wes says he's a good guy and got 46% of the vote last time with $300k in funding.

Now, helping rid Congress of someone who called the President of the United States a liar in front of the nation is sufficient reason to help Rob Miller win in South Carolina's 2nd District.
But I'm here to tell you Rob is a great candidate, a person that deserves to represent the American public in Congress. Rob was born and raised in South Carolina -- the younger of two sons of a Navy veteran. As a Marine Corps officer, Rob's experiences served to sharpen his worldview, to reinforce the value of freedom, and to strengthen his commitment to democracy.

I haven't checked the guy out (my spare dollars are going to expected new family member "lil' dude" right now), but it would be nice if he was, in fact, a decent Dem and could grab that seat.


He sounds (none / 0) (#12)
by Ga6thDem on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 06:48:57 PM EST

like a really good candidate. Is Wespac supporting him?


They have added the email (none / 0) (#15)
by nycstray on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 07:03:05 PM EST

that I got to their site and have an actblue link

I haven't checked the guy's site to see if it's an actual endorsement. I was kinda surprised to get the email. I don't get a lot from WesPac, so he seems to use his support with thought, imo. The message I got from Leahy today was about Obama renewing his support for the PO and to continue to support his (and Schumer/Durbin I imagine) PO effort. I'm not on any Obama or Dem party email lists anymore, so I have no idea if there was a bit of a push or this was strictly a WesPac deal. He does seem to do the district races and has helped a few here along with Gillibrand.


: I think (none / 0) (#21)
by Ga6thDem on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 07:17:33 PM EST

the only mailing list that I was on was Hillpac and I still get a few emails from the clintons about the foundation but not much else.

I was right (none / 0) (#18)
by andgarden on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 07:09:22 PM EST

PPP reports on Twitter:

167 interviews- was Obama lying about covering illegal immigrants? 88 yes, 60 no, 19 unsure
After 145 interviews 66 say Wilson calling Obama liar makes them more likely to vote for him, 59 say less likely, 20 say no diff.

: People need to remember that (none / 0) (#43)
by Socraticsilence on Fri Sep 11, 2009 at 04:20:13 PM EST

Ft. Sumter was the second time SC pushed treason against the union, can't see how much has changed for the white majority in a century and a half why should it suprise us if they're pols are kooks.

If this poll shows that he is seen favorably (none / 0) (#30)
by Militarytracy on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 10:51:48 PM EST

at home....well, I don't know. BTD said Texas is crazy but I don't know if they are #1 in crazy. SC and the sons of Confederate veterans might be ahead of them.


: SC is definitely number 1 on the crazy list... (none / 0) (#33)
by of1000Kings on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 11:02:52 PM EST

no doubt about it...
that state is pretty much unbelievable at times...but that is their right...

Anyone (none / 0) (#38)
by cal1942 on Fri Sep 11, 2009 at 04:16:06 AM EST

wanna put a few bucks on the results.

Didn't think so


That was some trial balloon! (5.00 / 6) (#5)
by Fabian on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 06:14:08 PM EST

As for the apology? He made nice and saved face, and then in true pols will be pols fashion, went on to rake in the windfall.

Hint to Obama - it's possible to be rude, incivil AND popular. Think about it.

RE: That was some trial balloon! (none / 0) (#6)
by JDEUNO on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 06:20:21 PM EST

I didn't see the speech last night, but this morning when I saw it on Morning Joe, I was stunned.

Is this what they have become? Are we on the brink of another Civil War? My God....this is scary.


It is the economy (5.00 / 1) (#7)
by Fabian on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 06:26:08 PM EST

When the economy is healthy and my economic news reports don't contain reviews of the poverty rate, unemployment rate and foreclosure rate, it's harder to rile people up.

Thanks to Bush (and others), we have a serious economic crisis (one year anniversary, woohoo!), not one but two unpopular wars and little things like climate change getting on people's nerves. Plus the same people who are ranting and raving now wouldn't dare to do it when their Dear Leader was POTUS. There's a lot of resentment out there and some of the right wing pundits are taking full advantage of it.


: Yep (3.50 / 2) (#9)
by Ga6thDem on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 06:42:16 PM EST

people are just ticked off in general about a lot of things the economy being the main one.
Of course, Wilsons statement makes the people in SC forget for a moment that they have 12% unemployment.
Things are generally stinky like you say and Obama is getting a lot of it simply because he is President. Also the wimpiness that emantes from him emboldens them too.

We've been at war (none / 0) (#39)
by cal1942 on Fri Sep 11, 2009 at 04:20:48 AM EST

for at least three decades.

The trouble is that only one side is actually fighting.


Shrug (5.00 / 4) (#8)
by Steve M on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 06:34:53 PM EST

It was barely an apology in the first place. Who cares really if he wants to be the gift that keeps on giving.

: I'm cool with that (none / 0) (#31)
by Militarytracy on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 10:52:49 PM EST

Yeah, that's the ticket... (5.00 / 1) (#11)
by inclusiveheart on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 06:43:59 PM EST

Phone ringing off the hook - tons of supporters - even Democrats! Yeah, right. LoL

Well (5.00 / 1) (#13)
by Ga6thDem on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 06:49:28 PM EST

you have to realize that this is SC so this actually might be true.


The way it's worded (none / 0) (#17)
by nycstray on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 07:09:08 PM EST

is it Dem colleagues, or just random citizens Dems?


Probably (none / 0) (#22)
by Ga6thDem on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 07:18:49 PM EST

random dem constituents I would imagine.


Why do you think this guy would be (5.00 / 2) (#23)
by inclusiveheart on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 07:59:44 PM EST

telling the truth? Seriously, this is one of those totally un-confirmable - half-truth - assertions that people of his ilk like to throw out when they are in trouble. He knows as well as I do that he's exaggerating or worse lying. Or even better, betraying confidential "atta boys" that he really shouldn't be sharing with the rest of the world.


Well (none / 0) (#24)
by Steve M on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 08:04:25 PM EST

by my calculations, around 50,000 South Carolina Democrats voted for McCain over Obama, so who knows.


: Oh, I am not surprised that he has his (none / 0) (#25)
by inclusiveheart on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 08:10:34 PM EST

cheerleaders, but I don't believe him when he claims that "Democrats" called cheering him on. In a place like SC - coming from a descendent of another great Southern state like Alabama - this is not the kind of guy who even talks to people who call themselves Democrats. I think he is full of it and in spin mode.

Two words (none / 0) (#41)
by Ga6thDem on Fri Sep 11, 2009 at 05:22:03 AM EST

Zell Miller.

Don't you think that Zell MIller would see no problem with Wilson? And Zell Miller isnt the only person that thinks that way.


ya, SC is the home of extemist evangelicals... (none / 0) (#28)
by of1000Kings on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 10:43:11 PM EST

and if we know anything about evangelical leaders it's that they have no problem lying (and then just asking for forgiveness)...

they also have no trouble hating minorities...


My husband got home tonight (5.00 / 3) (#27)
by Militarytracy on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 10:42:21 PM EST

for a few days before he leaves. He said that he watched the speech last night with two M.D.s who are deploying too. Both doctors are conservative, sheesh who isn't who is an officer in the military....the libs are a minority. Anyhow husband said they were all very upset at the disrespect shown the President even though the doctors complained that he wanted to change things too quickly. Sheesh again...whatever, if you guys stepped out of the V.A. system or the active duty system you might feel differently. I told my spouse that I did not feel the same way. I don't feel that a President is owed respect, but most of them earn it. I told him that I was sort of thankful that the Republican party was showing itself to be as nuts as it is these days, because our President was extremely sane and in problem solving mode last night and then suddenly crazies freak out for the whole world to see and they call themselves Republicans. I told my husband that soldiers of course have different rules about Presidential respect and I get it, and I would expect nothing less from them. It was less than two minutes later that the news reported that this particular Joe Wilson is a Colonel in the National Guard. Husband started smirking, dead Generals are rolling in their graves, probably even Confederate ones since the South has MANNERS first and they don't scream liar in sacred chambers......they respectfully secede.

: I seem to remember (5.00 / 1) (#32)
by Fabian on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 11:00:46 PM EST

that the South has some very, er, colorful figures.
Preston Brooks
The closest Brooks came to an apology:

It was a personal affair, and in taking redress into my own hands I meant no disrespect to the Senate of the United States or to this House.

You must really read the story - especially the part where Brooks is called out as a coward and challenged to a duel.

A little ruffer in Britan (5.00 / 1) (#34)
by Saul on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 11:09:58 PM EST

According to CNN Rich Sanchez, the parliament is pretty tough in name calling compared to ours, but they do not stand for the house or senate calling the prime minister a liar. According to his research there is record of one guy who called the prime minister Thatcher a liar. He was kicked out. He came back in and called her a liar again. He was removed from the premises.

Forced apologies (5.00 / 3) (#36)
by Stellaaa on Fri Sep 11, 2009 at 01:16:37 AM EST

are always a lie.

Hey, let's be reasonable (4.00 / 4) (#26)
by lambert on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 10:40:26 PM EST

Calling somebody a "liar" is a really, really big deal. Calling them a "whore" or saying they wish for their opponent's death -- that's just business!

* * *

Look! Over there! Joe Wilson!

Great point (none / 0) (#44)
by Socraticsilence on Fri Sep 11, 2009 at 04:22:30 PM EST

hey can you remind me when Randi Rhodes was elected to congress?


: I'm speaking to the larger point... (none / 0) (#45)
by lambert on Fri Sep 11, 2009 at 05:06:46 PM EST

... of "civility."

I don't quite understand (none / 0) (#2)
by shoephone on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 06:04:15 PM EST

the first sentence of your post. Is there a pasting error in there?

: Okay, you fixed it. (none / 0) (#4)
by shoephone on Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 06:10:54 PM EST

Please delete these two comments.