More Turkeyheading

You’ve got to hand it to Joe Wilson. He’s obviously been reading this blog. When the time came to call out, he stood right up (okay, sat down) and called the President a liar. The President. Of the United States. To his face. In the U.S. Capitol. In front of Congress. On national television.

And I, for one, am all right with that. If you think the president is lying, call him on it. Call him kettle-ears while you’re at it. Someone should have done that to Bush eight years ago.

- "I’m a uniter, not a divider.” You lie!
- "Our budget will run a deficit that will be small and short-term." You Lie!
- "I would say the best moment of all was when I caught a 7.5-pound perch in my lake." You… Okay, you got me there.

So Bush was never called out. Wilson, however, would not let the moment go without one big “You lie!” to the President. I’m proud of him. It’s a perfect Turkeyhead teaching moment. Look what he accomplished.

1. He’s now a national figure, which may have been his aim. I’ll give him more points if it was.


2. Everyone’s talking about it, and, as a by-product, healthcare


3. Rob Miller, Democratic candidate for Wilson’s seat, just got $350k in donations


4. We’re now more European than ever


5. I, for one, am going to tune in to the next speech. Maybe we’ll get to see a pie in the face.

As far as I can see, there was only one problem. That part where Wilson shouted out? The President had just said, "the reforms I am proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally.”

When Senator Long called Mayor Walmsley a Turkeyhead all those years ago, that was a statement of opinion (even if Long would not agree with that assessment). Wilson’s claim is fairly easily fact-checked. The result? Both Time and Newsweek noted that the statement was, in fact, correct by comparing it to the bill itself.

So Wilson got it wrong.

What a Turkeyhead