# House Republicans stand stalwart for Wilson **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 15, 2009, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-republicans-stand-stalwart-for-wilson/510235 "2009-09-15T21:32:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-republicans-stand-stalwart-for-wilson/510235/141 "2009-09-20T06:26:41Z")
Totally off the wall aside about nothing much, but the platypus of love… Article found searching for the pompatus, interesting discussion with lots of snidely knowledgeable comments PLUS! a glowing review of Straight Dope and an appropriately adoring tribute to The Cecil… **Joe Bob 'luc** says check it out! [http://testpattern.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/09/11/349955.aspx](http://testpattern.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/09/11/349955.aspx) ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-republicans-stand-stalwart-for-wilson/510235/142 "2009-09-20T13:27:08Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > There is absolutely nothing wrong with calling the President of the United States a liar while he is addressing a joint session of Congress. It’s not even to be disapproved. > > Wilson owed an apology not only to the President, but also to the House of Representatives, which he refused to do. > > I hope you’re ashamed of yourselves for putting party over propriety, and I hope the people who voted you into office are ashamed of you too. > > I can only assume that the 17 Democrats who voted “No” or “Present” did so because they are gleefully licking their chops at the future potential of calling a Republican President a liar from the floor of the House, and they should be ashamed as well. > > I’m disgusted. I’ve heard several times that the Dems booed and hissed at Bush during one State of Union. Is that true? ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-republicans-stand-stalwart-for-wilson/510235/143 "2009-09-20T14:18:03Z")
> [@cosmosdan](#): > > I’ve heard several times that the Dems booed and hissed at Bush during one State of Union. Is that true? As far as I know, it is true. There were Republicans booing Clinton, booing Obama. Do you see me urging action against any of them? In my opinion, they (they of either party) shouldn’t boo either; they can just sit on their hands during the pre-planned applause parts. Booing is quite a bit lower on the Richter Scale of rudeness though, and I do not condemn nor do I urge action against the booers. I’m not sure of the point of your question. Is it to expose me as a hypocrite or to move the goalposts? ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-republicans-stand-stalwart-for-wilson/510235/144 "2009-09-20T21:25:27Z")
Calling the president a liar or supporting the guy who does it bothers me less than the epistemological stance by much of our governing body that there is no such thing as a fact, that a lie is just an utterance you don’t like (in this case, because it compromises one of your own lies). I mean, doesn’t it come into play whether or not what you’re calling a lie is _actually_ a lie or not? ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-republicans-stand-stalwart-for-wilson/510235/145 "2009-09-21T03:22:31Z")
Democrats booed Bush when he claimed that Social Security would be bankrupt in 2042: the media called this unprecedented. Republicans routinely booed Clinton’s State of the Union addresses, starting in 2003 – and sometimes he improvised a response. Cite: [http://mediamatters.org/research/200502040014](http://mediamatters.org/research/200502040014) I personally have no problem with rolling of the eyes, shifting in seats, standing up to applaud, sitting on one’s hands, murmurs and other general crowd reactions. But individual catcalls and heckles are a separate category. And when an apology is clearly called for, it should be delivered to all relevant parties. The British Parliament’s Q&A sessions are a disgrace, or so it seems to this American. But this exchange was memorable: Rowdy MP: “What about Vietnam?” PM Harold Wilson: “The government has no plans to increase public expenditure in Vietnam.” MP: “Rubbish!” PM: “I’ll come to your special interest in a minute, sir.” > **[Is Obama the first president to get heckled during an address to Congress?](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2009/09/is-obama-the-first-president-to-get-heckled-during-an-address-to-congress.html)** > > A Republican representative from South Carolina, Joe Wilson, heckled President Obama during his speech to Congress Wednesday night. In response to... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-republicans-stand-stalwart-for-wilson/510235.md?page=7)