Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Should Rep. Wilson Apologize to House

This is not a defense of rudeness, but Rep. Wilson does not work for President Obama. Congress and the Presidency are two separate branches of a government established by the People and for the People of the United States.

Members of the House of Representatives also do not work for the Speaker of the House; they were elected by their congressional district to represent them in Congress (congress means a formal assembly of representatives).

The House has an established a code of conduct and procedures to be followed and the Speaker or someone standing in for the Speaker usually maintains order. Protocol has been established that it is inappropriate to call another representative of the assembly a liar or even to read a statement made by someone else that refers to a fellow representative as a liar. The Speaker of the House should uphold this practice.

Other than having the Speaker state for the Congressional Record during a regular session that Rep. Wilson was inappropriate in calling the President a liar, I'm not sure that any precedent exits to do more or that anything more needs to be done by the Speaker.

I have no doubt that Rep. Wilson believes that the President was fabricating the facts. I also believe that it would be mannerly of him to stand up during a session of the House to apologize for his outburst. It may open up another barrage of media attention, which Rep. Wilson could use to explain his disbelief of the merits of the President's health plan. But he better be prepared with accurate facts and figures and not just gut reactions.

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