Joe Biden predicts this morning that a health care reform bill will pass by Thanksgiving. That and the day’s other political news in the TPMDC Morning Roundup.
Longtime reader:
You note – and Versha Sharma documents – that Joe Wilson’s angry outburst was wrong on the substance. And that’s an important point.
But I think it’s worth contemplating that for a moment. What led Wilson to allow his “emotions get the best of” him and break with centuries of protocol to declare the president a liar? Innumerable presidential speeches have made selective claims or been parsimonious with the truth. And in this case, the claim actually bears up under scrutiny. So why this particular claim, and why now?
Now Michael Duvall, the California family values state Rep. whose career imploded yesterday after he got bragging about his extra-marital sex exploits on an open mic, is denying he’s actually had any affairs. In other words, it was all just trash talk, he says.
We’ve got Brian Beutler out there today trying to get comments from everyone under the sun with a vote in Congress on health care reform. And we’ll be bringing you reports throughout the day.
What’s most interesting to me today though is not simply politicians’ comments on policy specifics but the optics of their responses to the speech in general, particularly among moderate and conservative Democrats. Are they saying things meant to blunt or accelerate Obama’s momentum? When Ben Nelson says the speech is a “game changer” he knows what he’s saying. So watch closely to see what others are saying.
Talk, of course, is cheap. In a few months this is going to come down to yes or no votes on specific bills with detailed policy prescriptions. But these comments will tell you a lot about whether these folks want to be part of Obama’s problems or his solutions.
Dahlia Lithwick watched yesterday as the Roberts Court laid the ground work for eviscerating campaign finance jurisprudence. (It’s only activism if liberal judges do it.)
Arlen Specter: Rep. Wilson should be reprimanded or censured for “You lie!”
Most Americans first heard about Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) last night for his now-infamous “you lie!” outburst.
But it isn’t the first time for Wilson. Back in 2003, not long after the death of Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-SC), Thurmond’s bi-racial, out-of-wedlock daughter, Essie Mae Washington-Williams, came forward to say that Thurmond was her father. (Thurmond, who spent most of his career as a staunch proponent of segregation and Jim Crow, had supported the family financially for decades.) Wilson made headlines for telling The State newspaper that Washington-Williams should have kept the shameful secret to herself.
Wilson later had to apologize to Washington-Willaims, Thurmond’s family and perhaps implicitly non-awful people everywhere.
House Majority Whip James Clyburn of South Carolina says Rep. Wilson’s (R-SC) text apology wasn’t enough. He should “man up” and apologize from the well of the House, says Clyburn.
Rep. Wilson (R-SC), the new face of Republican opposition to health care reform, just went before the cameras for the first time looking sweaty and sort of shaky like he might be about to cry. I know that sounds a bit like trash talk. But that’s actually how he came off, his affect and expressions. He gave a pretty weak rationale for his claims about coverage of illegal aliens and then dashed off. We’ll have the video for you shortly.
Wilson also confirmed that the GOP House leadership contacted him after his outburst and told him to contact the White House and apologize.
Here’s the video of Wilson’s brief appearance.