Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) of “You lie!” fame appeared on FOX News Sunday to say that he’s done apologizing for heckling President Obama during his health care speech to Congress on Wednesday.
“I am not going to apologize again,” Wilson told Chris Wallace.
That likely means that Wilson will be rebuked by House Democrats, who indicated late last week that they planned to admonish the GOP heckler if he didn’t apologize on the House floor.
“This is playing politics,” Wilson said of the Democrats’ plan to rebuke him. “This is exactly what the American people do not want to see, do not want to hear.”
Wilson also suggested that Democrats were using him to divert attention from health reform.
Wilson apologized to President Obama on Wednesday. The president accepted Wilson’s apology.
Despite what he described as “a town hall moment” during Obama’s speech, Wilson again and again on Sunday emphasized his civility.
“I respect my colleagues and I respect civility and I support civility,” Wilson told FOX.
Wilson described his outburst as “a one-time event” born “out of frustration” of hearing the President “misstating the facts” on whether illegal immigrants would be covered under a new health bill.
“I believe in the truth,” Wilson said. “What I heard was not true.”
Of course, that’s not true. But never mind — Wilson repeatedly tried to lay claim to the truth by invoking how some Democrats implicitly affirmed Wilson’s false accusations last week by inserting stronger provisions about illegal immigrants into proposed health care legislation.
“I’ve been proven correct on the issue of citizen verification,” Wilson declared Sunday.
Wilson also said Sunday that “I would never do something like that again,” “I would never do this on purpose,” and that “I respect the president.”
And has his outburst helped him?
“People have just been loving,” Wilson said, adding that “our office has been overwhelmed with phone calls, letters and contributions.”
Wilson has reportedly raised more than $1 million since heckling Obama.
Late Update: Here’s the video.
