Liar of the Week

Former President Jimmy Carter is being criticized by Republicans for his comments this week regarding the vehement but cowardly attacks on President Obama. When specifically addressing the outburst by Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) during President Obama's televised speech on health care reform before Congress a week ago, Carter stated that Wilson's scream of "You lie!" is "based on racism and...an inherent feeling among many in this country that an African-American should not be President". While the White House is distancing themselves from Carter's remarks, Michael Steele, the Chairman of the Republican National Committee, described the comments as "disingenuous and...just wrongheaded". I should point out Wilson did "apologize" for his outburst during President Obama's speech, expressing that "While I disagree with the President's statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable". Well, let's take a few minutes and examine different aspects of this whole situation:

1. Wilson's accusation that President Obama was lying in his speech when he stated the health care reforms he is proposing would not apply to those individuals "who are here illegally".
Truth: The H.R. 3200 bill specifically states that this legislation will not "allow federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States".

2. Wilson's interruption of the President of the United States with the added perception that Wilson himself has always opposed health care for illegal immigrants.
Truth: Wilson actually voted in 2003 for the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act, which mandates that the federal government must reimburse "hospitals, physicians and ambulance providers...for their otherwise unreimbursed costs of providing services and...related hospital inpatient, outpatient and ambulance services...furnished to undocumented aliens, aliens paroled into the U.S. at a U.S. port of entry for the purpose of receiving such services and Mexican citizens permitted temporary entry to the U.S. with a laser visa".

3. Wilson's interruption of the President of the United States as an attempt to show that he is a champion of health care for all U.S. citizens.

• Wilson was rated 11% by the American Public Health Association, indicating an anti-public health voting record.
• Wilson voted against (1) putting mental health on par with physical health, (2) extending health insurance to six million more children, (3) requiring negotiated prescription prices for senior citizens on Medicare and (4) permitting the re-importation of prescription drugs.
• He voted for limiting (1) prescription drug benefits for Medicare recipients and (2) antitrust lawsuits against health plans and insurance providers.

4. Wilson's superb voting records on issues other than health care.

• Wilson has voted on legislation against (1) abortion, (2) allowing voting by stockholders on executive compensation, (3) increasing the minimum wage, (4) investing in homegrown biofuel, (5) prohibiting employer discrimination based on sexual orientation, (6) requiring warrants for wiretaps conducted in the U.S., (7) restricting no-bid defense contracts, (8) revitalizing distressed public housing, (9) stem cell research, (10) tax incentives for renewable energy and energy production and conservation and (11) $84 million in grants for black and Hispanic colleges.
• He has supported legislation to (1) authorize the construction of new oil refineries; (2) ban a gun registration and trigger lock law in Washington, D.C.; (3) deauthorize critical habitats for endangered species; (4) grant retroactive immunity to the telecommunications companies conducting warrantless surveillance on the American public; (5) permanently enact the PATRIOT Act; (6) prohibit same sex marriage and (7) restrict independent grassroots political committees.

5. Alan Wilson, the Congressman's son, and his attempts to paint a picture that his father is not racist.
Truth: Despite the younger Wilson remarking that "There is not a racist bone in my dad's body. He doesn't even laugh at distasteful jokes.", there are some instances in the father's past and present which may prove otherwise.

• In his earlier years, Wilson served as an aide to former Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-SC), who was infamous for his prejudicial views towards African-Americans. As a matter of fact, Thurmond, among his many quotes, once uttered that "There's not enough troops in the Army to force the Southern people to break down segregation and admit the Nigra race into our theaters, into our swimming pools, into our homes and into our churches".
• As a member of the South Carolina Senate, Wilson was one of only seven individuals in April 2000 to vote in favor of keeping the flag of the Confederacy flying over the State House. Wilson defended his vote by stating that "The Southern heritage, the Confederate heritage is very honorable".
• Wilson has been a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV), an organization comprised of male descendants of soldiers and sailors who served the Confederacy during the Civil War. In more recent years, some of the more vocal members of this group have expressed interest into transforming the SCV into "a modern, twenty-first century Christian war machine capable of uniting the Confederate community and leading it to ultimate victory".