How many of you support the right of a congressman to heckle the president...

[TheCoxwain]

Heck... I would have loved it if someone made G.W.BUSH look like an idiot on the floor of the house.


oops .. I forgot.... that wasnt needed... G.W.BUSH already was and looked like an Idiot.



jokes apart ... Joe Wilson was Absolutely WRONG on the substance .. none of the 5 bills in circulation will pay for illegal immigrants ( Which we pay anyway through other means) .....


but say Joe the Congressman had a genuine greivance ,,, does he not have the right to express himself?

[C_U_L8R]

1. They don't have that right... it's clearly against the rules.

And leadership needs to enforce or set precedent that teabaggery is the new decorum

[beac]

24. Don't forget this is the party whose VP told someone to F himself on the Senate floor.

They are rude and classless scum.

[blue sky at night]

2. last time i checked...........

it is against the rules, and they apply to both sides of the aisle!

[peace13]

3. I do not support it from the floor of the chamber.

We already have to deal with their rudeness out in the world, in the press and in the town halls.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

4. No.

I didn't support it when Bush was President and I don't support it now. Congress is not supposed to be a town hall meeting. (Then again, town hall meetings aren't really supposed to be town hall meetings, but I digress.)

[Uzybone]

5. This idea that liberals are for idiotic behaviour if it was Bush is annoying

too many DUers are parroting that standard RW lie.

[hamsterjill]

6. Absolutely not

His conduct and behavior was simply rude, as well as being against the rules.

Mr. Wilson, I'm certain, could have engaged one of many media outlets directly AFTER the speech to express his disagreement with President Obama.

There are some times when protocol must be obeyed in order to get business conducted. The business of last night was for President Obama to convey information to Congress and to the American people. At the very least, Mr. Wilson's behavior impeded that process.

[DianeK]

7. I am not sure what the rules say but

It definately was a no class thing to do. When you invite someone into your home the classy thing to do is to treat them as a welcomed guest and that would be my opinion if it were a democratic heckler shouting at Bush

[Cogito ergo doleo]

8. No! It's behavior unbefitting a congressman. We deserve better.

Lowering standard of decorum in this venue so that some third-rate politician can express himself :eyes:, does nothing but enable the swift deteriorization of our culture. Maybe that's the idea.

[SeattleGirl]

9. No. That kind of behavior has no place in the chamber.

To behave that way is boorish and ugly.

I don't care what a person's opinion of the President is, acting like Joe Wilson did is wrong.

[emulatorloo]

10. No -- it was rude. I don't care who is President. n/t

[Romulox]

11. By all means, the decorum of the cathouse must kept up at all costs!

[Tippy]

12. Sure hope none of Americas students were watching.....

He may haved the right to express himself but there is a right time and place...This was neither. My Grandaughter was watching...her school did not show The Presidents speech, she is in the fifth grade... And she came to me with tears in her eyes, "Why did that man say that? President Obama didn't lie, did he?" She has alway been taught to be respectful. Durring the Election she carried Obama signs around the Courthouse Square along with several students.

[OllieLotte]

13. Clearly he was out of line.

He quickly apologized, which was the right thing to do. Still, he brought in a sign, which indicates to me that it wasn't exactly spontaneous. I suspect he felt the heat from both sides on this one as it wasn't thought out. This kind of boorish behavior needs to end.

[peace13]

20. Did he have the sign?

I thought that was another ass.

[ljm2002]

14. A Congressional Representative...

...who is one of those being addressed by the President of the United States, is under different rules.

Of course he has the "right" to say what he wants. He could stand up, flap his arms and shout "Goober goober goober" if he wanted to. He would not be breaking any actual law.

On the other hand, actions and words have consequences. He was in clear violation of House rules, which are quite explicit on the topic: you cannot call the President a liar on the House floor. It is spelled out in the rules. Therefore, he must be sanctioned.

As an aside, I'm 60 years old and have taken an avid interest in politics since I reached the age of 12. Never have I seen such a shocking breach of decorum directed at a President. I was truly shocked when it happened, then after a few seconds I was yelling at the TV "I want to know who that MF is!". I also noted the expressions on the faces of Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi and President Obama and I knew that my shock was legitimate, they were also shocked and outraged but handled it well.

Finally: no I would not have wanted anyone on our side to shout out during a Presidential address. There is a reason we have traditions and rules in our government, and there are plenty of venues where members of Congress can spew all the venom they want to spew. A Presidential address to Congress is not one of those venues.

[Akoto]

15. I don't, not under those circumstances.

Say what you will on your own time, but you don't heckle the President when he's addressing Congress (and by extension, the people and the world). There's a certain decorum about this type of meeting that isn't to be violated, as well as flat out rules against it. That would be why Rahm and some of the senior Republicans immediately got on Wilson to apologize. They'd never seen it done before.

If he wants to express himself, do it via rebuttal. Do it during a town hall or a webcast. Don't do it when the President's trying to address the government and the world in a formal setting.

[scheming daemons]

16. "does he not have the right to express himself?" No... not in that setting...

In a press conference afterwards? Sure.



He's an elected congressman. Decorum is required in that setting.

[Clio the Leo]

17. They got a big park outside the White House.....

.... and he's more than welcome to get some signs and pace around and shout that the President is a liar.

There's a time and place for everything .... and for someone who could easily stand in front of a pool spray and call the President a liar, that was disgraceful.

I want my politicians to behave like they have home training, even if I dont agree with their politics.

(but who am I kidding? lol ...... I'm GLAD he did it! It put a "the GOP is flailing around like dying bugs" exclamation point on the night. )

[cali]

18. nope. not in the chamber. there are rules. there should be rules.

[Orangepeel]

19. too bad his lordship didn't come through. He could go heckle the Prime Minister.

Oops! That's only the House of Commons. Foiled again!

[Phx_Dem]

21. I would have been appalled if a Democrat had treated Bush or any other

President that way. There are times when it's appropriate to criticize the Presisdent and times when it is absolutely not; i.e., a during a joint session of congress, during an inaugural speech, during a state dinner/speech or function, etc.

Just because you don't like someone, doesn't mean you throw out decorum and along with your manners. But, clearly, you don't have any manners.

[bigwillq]

22. Not from the floor of the chamber.

And not really if it's heckling. Criticizing, and even calling a president a "liar", is ok if it's warranted, but not in the chamber during the middle of a speech.

[treestar]

23. In theory he has the right

But it was boorish to exercise it in his case.

If a congressman had passionately demanded of Bush why he was sending us into unnecessary war, and it was during Junior's speech, I could support it - since that would be serious on a serious issue. If the congressperson meant it and felt truly passionate about it, I could support that.

A judgment call. Wilson was out of line because it was a frivolous issue and he was plain wrong on the facts.

[Dr Fate]

26. I tend to agree- and even still, I would have to support equal enforcement of rules and censure. n/t

n/t

[Dr Fate]

25. It's a great way to get press, but it is against the rules.

I support equal enforcement of the rules.