civility in debate
There is a difference between polite disagreement and a rude outburst. But you all knew that.
I want to know what the hell is happening to this country.
If a Democrat had shouted "You lie!" to Bush during a joint session of congress, the Republicans would be calling him or her unAmerican, unpatriotic, and probably a bunch of other nasty names, too. A simple apology would not be enough for them to recover - the Republicans would be calling for resignation.
And Joe Wilson's 'apology' is certainly not enough for me, even if Obama accepts it. You can't apologise while in the same breath saying, "but I was right," and that's exactly what Wilson did: "I'm sorry my emotions got the best of me, but my point still stands." Unacceptable. What's wrong with "I am sorry. My actions were wrong and I will not do it again." Anything else is insincere.
I think Congress would do well to let this go, though. As many others have said, there are more important things to be doing right now, like passing a health care bill. Let Wilson be judged in the court of public opinion, and voted out of office in 2010.
But this obviously isn't the only instance of an absurdly uncivil 'debate'. What about the town halls?
Again, if someone had attended a similar event for a Republican-supported cause in the last eight years and acted disruptively, they probably would have ended up in Guantanamo. But instead, these same people who claimed it was unpatriotic just to oppose President Bush think it's OK to shout down anyone they disagree with.
And of course, all that shouting just makes them seem like they don't have legitimate points. Which some of them certainly don't, but others I'm sure do, but lose all credibility by shouting about death panels.
Has it always been this way and I've just never noticed until now, or has the cable news era really made things worse?
I want to know what the hell is happening to this country.
If a Democrat had shouted "You lie!" to Bush during a joint session of congress, the Republicans would be calling him or her unAmerican, unpatriotic, and probably a bunch of other nasty names, too. A simple apology would not be enough for them to recover - the Republicans would be calling for resignation.
And Joe Wilson's 'apology' is certainly not enough for me, even if Obama accepts it. You can't apologise while in the same breath saying, "but I was right," and that's exactly what Wilson did: "I'm sorry my emotions got the best of me, but my point still stands." Unacceptable. What's wrong with "I am sorry. My actions were wrong and I will not do it again." Anything else is insincere.
I think Congress would do well to let this go, though. As many others have said, there are more important things to be doing right now, like passing a health care bill. Let Wilson be judged in the court of public opinion, and voted out of office in 2010.
But this obviously isn't the only instance of an absurdly uncivil 'debate'. What about the town halls?
Again, if someone had attended a similar event for a Republican-supported cause in the last eight years and acted disruptively, they probably would have ended up in Guantanamo. But instead, these same people who claimed it was unpatriotic just to oppose President Bush think it's OK to shout down anyone they disagree with.
And of course, all that shouting just makes them seem like they don't have legitimate points. Which some of them certainly don't, but others I'm sure do, but lose all credibility by shouting about death panels.
Has it always been this way and I've just never noticed until now, or has the cable news era really made things worse?