FreedomWorks Head Dick Armey Sympathizes With Heckler Rep. Wilson

Dick Armey, chairman of FreedomWorks
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At the kickoff today to this weekend’s big anti-health care reform rallies in Washington, D.C., FreedomWorks chairman Dick Armey defended Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), saying, “Cut Mr. Wilson a little slack.”

Armey said Obama started the liar talk when he said the idea of death panels is “a lie, plain and simple.”

“So what’s the rule here? President of the United of States can say you’re liars and somebody else cannot? Give poor old Joe Wilson a break here,” Armey said to reporters, according to the Washington Independent. “Now, again, I cut him no slack. He knows better, or he should. He got himself in trouble and he reflected badly on people who share his point of view. But don’t let Obama off the hook for saying the same thing.”

Despite cutting him “no slack” himself, Armey urged others to do so.

“Unless you’re willing to call the president out, cut Mr. Wilson a little slack,” he said according to TheHill.com.

Wilson yelled, “You lie!” during President Obama’s address to Congress Wednesday night.

The crowd of 800 reportedly chanted “You lie! You lie!” at several points during today’s rally, held outside the Capitol. They weren’t calling out the event’s speakers, which included several Republican members of Congress, but rallying around Wilson.

Wilson was scheduled to speak at the rally, along with several other GOP lawmakers. He didn’t make it — and, Armey said, didn’t tell the group he was canceling — but several others did. House Minority Leader John Boehner, Minority Whip Eric Cantor, Rep. Mike Pence and others spoke to the crowd.

“Was that an August or what?” said Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), reports Politico. “The only thing better than August is going to be next November.”

Tea party types showed up at Wilson’s office this morning to wish him well, according to MSNBC, and Wilson told a local television station he’s been “overwhelmed” with supportive phone calls.

FreedomWorks, an insurance industry-connected group, is organizing Saturday’s D.C. rally. With tea partiers coming in from across the country, organizers are expecting large crowds.

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