Mediaite » Wilson You Lie

Grayson’s ‘Die Quickly’ Is A Far Cry From Wilson’s ‘You Lie!’

Helen Zhang — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:36:50 +0000

A relatively unknown Democratic Congressman from Florida made his celebrity debut on the House floor and in front of CSPAN cameras this week, and since then it’s become the sound bite everyone’s discussing (video after the jump). Representative Alan Grayson of the ninth district has now reached political celebrity because of his sarcastic rant describing the Republican health care plan, which went a little like this:

Here it is. The Republican health care plan for America: Don’t get sick. That’s right, don’t get sick. If you have insurance don’t get sick. If you don’t have insurance, don’t get sick. If you’re sick, don’t get sick. Just don’t get sick. That’s what Republicans have in mind for you America. That’s the Republicans’ health care plan. But I think that the Republicans understand that that plan isn’t always going to work, it’s not a foolproof plan. So the Republicans have a backup plan in case you do get sick. If you get sick in America, this is what Republicans want you to do. If you get sick America, the Republican health care plan is this: die quickly.

This ballsy address has gotten the attention of Politico, Huffington Post, NY Magazine’s Daily Intel, the Wall Street Journal, Fox News, and even Joe Scarborough on MSNBC yesterday morning, basically ensuring its merit as a lead story for the rest of the day.

Yesterday House Republicans demanded that Grayson apologize and started circulating a resolution of disapproval, the same slap on the wrist that their own Joe Wilson got for his own rambunctious verbal address. Grayson obliged with an apology, though in a very different manner than what the Republicans were expecting. “I apologize to the dead and their families that we haven’t voted sooner to end this holocaust in America,” Grayson said on the house floor.

Media outlets have been quick to draw parallels between the two, and even North Carolina Representative Patrick McHenry is likening Grayson’s passionate, albeit contemptuous, demonstration to the “You lie!” outburst a few weeks ago. Yesterday, the Congressman tweeted:

Will Pelosi hold vote to reprimand #Grayson?http://bit.ly/4pGUWN Or was JWilson reprimand just partisan politics after all? #tcot

The problem with this comparison is that the two situations don’t compare at all. Indeed, Grayson was acting in a provocative way, but he was yelling to us through CSPAN. Wilson yelled at the President, to his face. Grayson was making a point, however colorfully, and he had the right to do so with his allotted five minutes. Wilson wasn’t just talking out of turn, but interrupting a televised speech. Being made by the President.

People make confrontational speeches in the House all the time. But shouting like you’re in kindergarten while someone else is talking is something entirely different.

Apples and oranges. Which was part of the point Keith Olbermann made on Countdown last night.

Cable News Websites Treat Joe Wilson Very Differently

Colby Hall — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:43:56 +0000

Rep. Joe Wilson‘s outburst of “You lie” at President Barack Obama during his speech to Congress Wednesday has created quite a media stir, and the way that this story unfolds reveal a lot about the health care debate and the odds for a bipartisan solution. But not everyone seems to feel that this is a lead story. Let’s take a look at how the websites for the cable news networks chose to cover the story:

CNN.com sees this as a big and interesting story, providing both headline and image:

MSNBC.com does not give it the lead headline, but provides the “money shot” of Joe Wilson’s outburst:

FoxNews.com sees ACORN the largest current issue today, choosing the questionable headline “Pimpin’ for ACORN”, but provide a smaller news head in the listing of “other stories”:

Rep. Joe Wilson: Newest Hero to Some

Colby Hall — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 12:15:52 +0000

In what many considered to be a shocking and embarrassing breach of decorum, a Republican House Member, Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., shouted “You lie” at President Barack Obama during his speech to Congress Wednesday. Democrats AND Republicans were quick to call out his eruption (bipartisanship at last!), and Wilson himself was quick to issue an apology. But on the strange world of the Internet, Joe Wilson’s scene appears to have made him an instant hero.

Wilson’s outburst came just as President Obama was addressing concerns about medical care for illegal immigrants under the Administration’s proposed heath care reforms — an issue near and dear to many “Angry White Dudes.”

Need proof? Go to AngryWhiteDude.com and see the headline “Joe Wilson – Hero to the People.”

If you want a truthful and common sense take on the Wilson outburst, you can go to TruthandCommonSense.com with the simple headline “Joe Wilson, Hero.”

Twitter has also been fairly revealing: “berekah – RT @billpr53 Congressman Joe Wilson is an American hero, shouting out what a majority of Americans have been screaming for months”, and “keytawahner – If they didn’t like Joe Wilson, just wait until buses galore hit Washington with protestors. Joe Wilson is my hero.”

Truth be told, the selected rants of a few bloggers and Twitterers doesn’t exactly prove a trend. But the treatment of Joe Wilson by the mainstream critics of President Obama’s Health Care reform will reveal just how big a divide the President has to heal. Will Wilson to be a highly sought after guest and talking head now on Fox News and on Rush, Sean and Glenn’s shows? Or will we heed the president’s call for working together in a civil manner. Time will tell.

See the “You Lie” clip for yourself: