Certainly, many prominent Republicans were shamed, enough to make Wilson apologize. But there are many who don’t think it’s a big deal, calling it “manufactured outrage” and otherwise criticizing liberal reaction to the event. And, of course, there are those who are praising him to the high heavens, such as the Free Republic posters mentioned in another thread.
Is there any way to get any sort of generalized sense of how the Wilson thing is being seen in conservative circles. I mean, I know what the liberal reaction is like; that should be pretty universal. But the reaction on the other end of the aisle is probably much more fractured, and I wanted to get a feeling for it.
(Mods, feel free to move if appropriate; I couldn’t quite nail down a definite answer for proper forum.)
Speaking just for myself, I found his behavior innappropriate. For that matter, I didn’t like the other guys holding up their damn signs like this was some sort of pep rally.
Darn tootin’. About all you can say that’s good about that little misadventure is that it taught the US Army something about the virtues of mechanized transport.
I suspect it will not. The Administration benefits from having this incident fade away quickly, so that it does not pull public attention away from its actual legislative goals. I would guess that they are asking Congressional leadership to let the matter drop.
And here I’d always thought there was a clear distinction between the morons and the people who exploit the morons. I guess the world really did change after the 1994 mid-terms.
It won’t. He’s in the Senate and Wilson’s in the House. Both are protective of their prerogatives. Specter was out of line even to comment publicly on a House matter.
If they are holding out for a bipartisan bill, it does not help them to harp on it. But if they’ve given up and not intend to do a full court press and demonize their opponents, focusing on this would help.
I guess I’m a conservative. I’m definitely not a Republican though so I don’t think my opinion is what you’re looking for.
I can only picture what it would be like if the roles were reversed. What if Bush, giving a speech before a joint session of Congress got heckled and a Democrat yelled “you lie!” (justified or not). I would find it crass and grossly inappropriate. If you don’t want to clap or shout praise, then sit there in stony silence. But respect the office of the President, respect your own office, and respect the situation you’re in by showing some fucking class.
He’d have been better to have raised his hand or somehow asked for specifically where the bill refused illegals the chance for insurance. But if there is only one interruption for the space of an entire one hour or two hour presentation (however long it was) and it was on a valid point, I can’t say I care all that much. But, you’d better be damned sure that you can prove your interruption was justified. (Which is rather difficult, since proving non-existence is much harder than existence, and hence why he would have been better to have held up his hand and asked.)
Precisely. As a good (Republican) friend of mine and I agreed, either Wilson had no home training, or it didn’t take and his mother is currently dying of shame.
Bad form. There’s a time & place for even vehement criticism & disagreement and that wasn’t it. Even the SDMB favorite right-wing pinata’ Pat Buchanan says so.
As a conservative I don’t think Woodrow Wilson was a good President. He refused to compromise on the League of Nations on a few matter just because it’s author Senator Lodge was a man Wilson disliked. As a result the US didn’t join the LON and the latter was powerless to stop World War II. :mad:
I’m a conservative. The guy was a jackass. We conservatives just spent 8 years complaining about nasty protesters screaming at President Bush and other Republicans. We should be striving to demonstrate the classy way to express our dissent, not playing the same game.
I don’t. It was done quietly with no fuss. If he’d yelled, stomped off in a huff, etc., that wouldn’t be the case. The dignified leaving of an event you have no intention of participating in, even as a spectator, is not an etiquette or protocol offense, in my opinion.