Representative Wilson of South Carolina's outburst against President Obama during his Wednesday evening address has stirred up strong emotions for Republicans and Democrats alike, which is exactly the opposite of what Obama had wished to achieve with his address to a joint session of Congress. Emotions are so strong that there are plans early this week by Democratic leaders to pass a House resolution condemning Wilson's remarks. This resolution would not be a formal reprimand of Wilson, but merely an acknowledgement that Congress condemned his actions. While Wilson's comments were tasteless and out of line, to bring more attention to them would further bog down the health care debate and distract Americans from the finer points of the proposed health care plan. For the sake of concentrating on important policy points, Democrats should drop their plans for a proposed resolution and instead focus on fine-tuning the overhaul of the health industry.
Wilson's outburst during the President's speech, regardless of one's political orientation, was unnecessary and disrespectful. Obama had the floor at the time, thus the members of the House and Senate are compelled to listen to him. The Republicans were going to have a chance to rebut the President's speech on live national television after it was over, so any attempts to rebut Obama during his speech were unnecessary. The outburst was the culmination of the way that debate over the health care issue has shifted from an open forum of honest discussion to baseless accusations and overly wrought rhetoric. The sensationalist accusations of the cable news networks reached the floor of Congress on Wednesday night. The most upsetting part about Wilson's outburst is not the view expressed by it, but the complete lack of respect for the finer points of civil discussion that an American legislator should most definitely have.
Although Wilson lost his cool and yelled at the President during the middle of his speech, he at least acknowledged after the fact that his actions were out of line and personally apologized to the President (perhaps with some prodding by GOP leadership). Despite this, some Democrats are insisting that the House formally pass a resolution condemning Wilson's actions. This seems to be overkill and in many ways is simply promoting the tension that Obama sought to mitigate through his Wednesday evening address. Wilson's comments have been condemned by members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, the media has reported on it plenty (perhaps too much), and Wilson personally apologized to the President. I am not sure what the point is in continuing to bring up Wilson's comments, other than to once again derail the crux of the health care discussion in favor of empty rhetoric and partisan politics. The Democrats need to take the higher ground and accept Wilson's apology to the President as penitence for his actions, and move on to the serious issue of how to continue pushing for a reformed health care system in America.
In the context of American history, Wilson's dissenting comments were fairly tame. One need only to think back to Aaron Burr dueling (and murdering) Alexander Hamilton, Preston Brooks beating Charles Sumner in the Senate chamber, and the secession of Southern states prior to the Civil War and realize that Rep. Wilson's outburst is barely worth acknowledging. Fortunately, we have come far in terms of how our legislators and other politicians choose to express their disagreement with one another. There will always be room for improvement when it comes to achieving a respectful and honest dialogue between opposing viewpoints, but there is no reason to delay honest debate on health care reform any longer. Rather than condemning Wilson with a House resolution, Democrats and Republicans should get right back into a healthy and fruitful debate over the finer points of health care overhaul. Our representatives owe it to us to drop the partisan politics and the inflammatory rhetoric and do what we elected them to do: pursue our best interests through debate and legislative action. The future of America depends upon honest discussion, not shouting matches in the Capitol.
Michael Khavari's column appears Tuesdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at m.khavari@cavalierdaily.com
Read More
EDITORIAL: Carla Williams deserves her seat at the table
By Editorial Board | 2 days agoLooking beyond basketball and football reveals that Virginia Athletics is, in many ways, thriving.
UPADHYAYA: The Great and not-so-Good sides of U.Va.’s 2030 housing plan
By Apal Upadhyaya | 5 days agoInstead of improving the dire state of existing infrastructure, however, the University has shifted attention away from it and chosen to expand.
EDITORIAL: Support low-barrier shelters in Charlottesville
By Editorial Board | 6 days agoInvesting in low-barrier shelters now will pay off in increased stability for the homeless, which will undoubtedly improve the safety of shelters and the community writ large.
