Why Joe Wilson was right – and wrong
Sep 11, 2009 My thoughts on...
When South Carolina Representative Joe Wilson told President Obama he was lying when he said illegal aliens would not be covered under the proposed health care reform plan, he was 100% correct. Why? Well, let’s break it down…
While it’s true that the House bill being debated explicitly states that illegal aliens would not be covered under the plan, it is also true that the bill includes no requirement for verifying a patient’s citizenship status. House Republicans tried to add an amendment to the bill requiring proof of citizenship, but the Democrats summarily rejected it.
What this means of course is that all an illegal alien would have to do to be included in the plan is show up and verbally claim to be an American citizen. The Democrats know this, hence the refusal to formally require verification of citizenship in the bill. They plan on bringing the illegals into the system through the “back door” via a systematic lack of enforcement. Therefore, illegal aliens would indeed be covered under the plan.
Without a doubt President Obama knew this to be the case when he made the claim that illegal aliens would not be covered under the bill as written. After all, health care reform is his own personal pet project. And since lying is defined as making a statement that you know to be untrue at the time it is said, the President did indeed lie to everyone in attendance that night as well as everyone who watched the speech on television.
As we have just seen, Representative Wilson was factually correct when he yelled “You lie!” after President Obama made that false claim. But I believe he was wrong to say it at that particular place and time. Like him or not, Barack Obama is still the President, and as such he deserves the same respect given to all Presidents. We Americans have a time-tested tradition of honoring the office of President of the United States and the men who hold it, and we need to uphold and continue that tradition regardless of the current President’s political affiliation or our own feelings toward him personally.
It’s perfectly fine to publicly disagree with a President, and even say he lied if the facts bear that out. But during a formal address to a joint session of Congress is not the time or place to do it. When a President is speaking in such a formal setting, he should not be interrupted by those in attendance even if they are right and he is wrong, as was clearly the case on Wednesday night. Statements of disagreement should be held for later.
In summary, Joe Wilson was right to say what he said, but he was wrong to do it at that particular time and place.
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