‘You lie!’ outburst just latest evidence that political civility is dying

When President Barack Obama spoke at the funeral of U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy, he mentioned there was “a time when advocates still saw each other as patriots.” He spoke of the respect between Kennedy and Republicans such as U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah and U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

And he seemed sorry those days apparently died with Kennedy.

In his health care speech, Obama tried to resurrect a spirit of Democrats and Republicans working together. When he said he wanted to support two ideas, one proposed by the Bush administration, another proposed during the campaign by McCain, the Arizona warhorse beamed.

But it says plenty when high school students in a gym on Tuesday behaved more respectfully than a Republican congressman in the House on Wednesday.

Rep. Joe Wilson’s 15 minutes of fame came not from offering any good ideas, but by yelling “You lie!”

Wilson’s outburst came after Obama said illegal immigrants would not be covered by proposed health care legislation. Wilson behaved like a thug, disrespecting not just a president, but also the House where he works and the South Carolinians he has represented since 2001.

Wilson did apologize that night, releasing a statement saying: “This evening I let my emotions get the best of me when listening to the president’s remarks regarding the coverage of illegal immigrants in the health care bill. While I disagree with the president’s statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable. I extend sincere apologies to the president for this lack of civility.”

Obama accepted.

But Wilson wasn’t the only one who forgot where he was and violated that honorable American tradition of respecting the presidency even if you don’t respect the president.

Who was that guy with a homemade sign on his lap saying “What bill?” That was Texas Republican Congressman Louie Gomert, referring to the lack of a single bill, though multiple preliminary versions are floating around.

And who were those guys waving around paper? Those were Republicans waving GOP proposals around.

Fortunately, I saw no thuggery on the part of the Nevada Republicans.

Of course, U.S. Sen. John Ensign wasn’t there. He was home sick watching the speech on television. (Those “reaction” comments you saw on local television were pre-taped before he heard the speech, showing nothing Obama said would change his mind.)

U.S. Rep. Dean Heller was on television frequently because he sat right behind the House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio.

Like Boehner, Heller kept his reactions civil, standing and applauding at ideas he liked; sitting and scowling disapproval at things he didn’t.

Maybe Heller learned rudeness doesn’t pay based on his speech to the Carson City Rotary Club in August, when he asked how many in the room had taken advantage of Cash for Clunkers. When one man raised his hand, Heller said, “Congratulations. Everybody else in the room paid for your car.”

The Nevada Appeal reported the man left saying, “I have better things to do than be insulted by a man who hasn’t learned anything. I’ll never vote for you again.”

Lesson to Wilson and Heller: You only make enemies by behaving like a bum. Plus, the point you wanted to make is lost in your tacky behavior.

Yes, U.S. Sen. Harry Reid called the second President George Bush a liar in an interview in 2004, referring to Bush’s position on Yucca Mountain. And, yes, Reid never apologized. I thought that, too, was tacky.

When I attended a State of the Union speech by President Bush in 2007, there was no yelling or derisive laughter. If Democratic lawmakers didn’t agree with him, they sat and didn’t applaud. Oh, there might have been some rolling of the eyes and whispering. But Bush’s opponents delivered their message without yelling, putting signs on their laps, waving papers in the air, hissing, booing or calling Bush a liar during a joint session of Congress.

But the behavior Wednesday of a few Republicans, who knew they were on television, makes me wonder whether civility between those with differing opinions is going to die out completely when John McCain and Orrin Hatch leave the Senate.

They seem to be among the last who believe fixing problems trumps grandstanding for the cameras.

Jane Ann Morrison’s column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0275. She also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/morrison.