Joe Wilson at the George Washington University
Last Tuesday evening, The George Washington University College Republicans invited Congressmen Joe Wilson (SC-2), Jeff Fortenberry (NE-1), and Tom Price (GA-6) to speak on current affairs and politics on the GW Mount Vernon campus as part of the CR?s Congressional Dinner Series.
The room was filled with over fifty young conservatives eager to hear the three congressmen discuss their respective positions on why intensive counterinsurgency operations is the only way to success in Afghanistan, and why a public option would be detrimental to our health care system. Congressman?s Wilson and Price also encouraged the group of ambitious young politicos to further their involvement in the conservative movement by volunteering on campaigns and by pursuing internships on Capitol Hill.
After the panel, students were able to speak with the congressmen individually, pose for pictures, get autographs, and make small talk. It was quite clear that Congressman Wilson was the ?rock star? of the event, as students lined up and waited for over 45 minutes for a quick handshake and a picture. While waiting in line, I overheard many of the attendees praise Wilson for his outburst on the Senate floor, as they referred to him as a ?conservative crusader? and a ?true patriotic American.? But is being disrespectful to the President truly patriotic? Moreover, many of those who met him confessed that it would be their ?dream? to intern in his office and Wilson quickly deferred them to his staff assistant who was standing by handing out business cards and contact information. I couldn?t help but wonder are these young conservatives looking up to the wrong role model? The Congressman?s recent actions are symbolic of everything that?s wrong with the current state of the GOP, his outburst is the embodiment of angry politics, but that?s just what the GW College Republicans seemed to want.
Just as the event was coming to a close, I had the opportunity to meet with Congressman Joe Wilson and asked him the following:
?Congressman Wilson, you’re scheduled to speak at a Young America?s Foundation conference on leadership at the Reagan Ranch in November. Given the recent incident during the joint session of congress, how do you think President Ronald Reagan might have reacted to your outburst??
Here is Congressman Wilson?s response:
?I made a mistake, I acted inappropriately. It was a moment when emotion got the better of me. I am a gentlemen, I immediately made a phone call to the Rahm Emanuel at the White House and offered an apology. President Obama graciously accepted my apology and said he wanted to move on from the incident. However, some on the far-left are trying to use this as a way to keep me quiet as they want to keep me from talking about the real issues. I apologized once, I am not going to apologize again, I think it?s time to move on and get on to serious debate. I believe President Reagan would have reacted the same way that is to say, accept my apology and move on.? If this had happened when Reagan was President, I would have done the same thing and immediately phoned his chief of staff to offer an apology.?
To Congressman Wilson?s credit he did not appear to be the Glenn Beck of the United States Congress as he has been portrayed. He was very humble, soft-spoken, and honest when acknowledging his egregious error. His actions were admittedly inappropriate, but apparently many of CR?s did not get that memo.
What is even more disturbing, the event was promoted on the GW College Republican?s website with a picture of Wilson infamously yelling at the President during his address to the joint session of Congress earlier this month. Wilson?s positive accomplishments in congress, rather than his disrespectful comments, should have been what motivated the GW Republicans to invite him to campus.
Sam K. Theodosopoulos is an undergraduate at The George Washington University and the Editor-at-Large of the GW Young America’s Foundation Blog.
We’re All Racists Now…
Apparently we’re all racists now. Jimmy Carter told me so.
I’m from Dixie. The land of labels. The area of the country were if anyone has a problem with anything that anyone else of the opposite skin color does it’s always attributed solely to racism. The accusation usual comes from Liberals. It’s frustrating. It’s equally as frustrating to listen to Carter proclaim his excitement of the South’s progress in race relations like he is sitting on some cloud as a deity encouraging his Southern brothers toward some goal that he had already achieved ages ago.
Jimmy Carter, please go away. You aren’t President, you aren’t anything. You have failed so many times I cannot even think of a time you succeeded other than somehow tricking the country into voting for you. Oh, and congrats on that Nobel Prize for keeping North Korea free of nuclear weapons. As a Georgian, if I could kick you out of my state I would. You bring the Empire State of the South nothing but shame.
I was happy to see Robert Gibbs shoot down Carter’s assessment. It may be the first truthful and logical thing I’ve ever heard the man say.
When Maureen Dowd wrote her hate column to Joe Wilson last week she went after his affiliation with the Sons of the Confederacy. Anyone reading this without knowledge of what the SCV is would immediately associate this with some sort of secessionist or racist organization, which is what I’m guessing since it was in the New York Times. The more accurately named Sons of Confederate Veterans is a veterans organization. How dare he be apart of a veterans organization!
SCV was formed in union with the Grand Army of the Republic, which is the veterans organization of Northern soldiers during the Civil War. These groups M.O. is to research and preserve the history of the war, establish battle sight memorials, and help individuals locate information on relatives that fought in the war. The SCV has received commendation from both Republican President George Bush (Bush, George W. “Letter of Commendation.” Confederate Veteran, June, 1996: p.6.) and from Democratic President Bill Clinton (Clinton, Bill. “Letter of June 21, 1994, from Bill Clinton.” UDC Magazine, Sept. 1994: p. 9.). But how dare you be a member Joe Wilson! That makes you a racist!
It must be noted that Obamacare will cover illegal immigrants. Ed Morrissey covered this on HotAir.com when the neutral Congressional Research Office announced this a few weeks ago. I was told recently by a blue crusader that Joe Wilson was a racist because he yelled, “You lie” after Obama mentioned illegals. That somehow because Obama was lying about coverage of illegal immigrants, and Wilson called him on it means that Wilson is a racist because the lie he uncovered pertained to illegal immigrants. Seriously? Informal fallacy perhaps?
Does anyone realize what’s going on here?
That’s right Admiral, it’s a trap. Democrats want us to be having this conversation. They want us to be stirred up and talking about race relations, and our thoughts on the black president. Which is completely ironic in itself considering the fact that WE HAVE A BLACK PRESIDENT! White people had to vote for him too.
But the whole point of all of this is that we are now not talking about what we should be talking about: the health care and cap and trade bills. There is recent precedence for this if you don’t believe me. Remember how concerned we all were for the well fair of the voter in Iran? Then Michael Jackson died. Iran what? Sad but true.
What’s also sad but true is that race relations in this country may have just been set back 20 years. And at the fault of the liberals stirring up the controversy. Ironically the Democrats always proclaim to be the ones promoting minorities. But Robert Byrd is running around unafflicted by his own party for his massive involvement in the KKK. And it’s the Democrats that block conservative efforts to move minorities out of inner city schools to provide them a better education. It’s almost as if the liberals don’t want to see minorities succeed, be well educated, and find successful jobs or become business owners. I wonder why? Ask Herman Cain.
But I digress. Focus people, focus! Let’s get back to the real issue before those in power in DC try to play some sleight of hand while they have us busy with our heads in the clouds over an issue that’s not really an issue.
-nick
