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The term “asshat” gets thrown around liberally these days, often at times when it isn’t appropriate. It’s good that we live in a time when someone has acted in a way that has the power to show every American the exact meaning of that pejorative term. More on this later.

I was having one of those pointed but cordial discussions on facebook yesterday regarding a video circulating on YouTube that shows Democratic congressmen (and women!) coming to the microphone to speak in support of the health care bill, and Republican congressmen (and women?) attempting to obfuscate anything the Dems said by shouting “I object” over and over again the instant each one opened their mouth. The defense of these actions from the conservatives was the same defense that gets proffered every time a person or group acts in a way that they know is improper. “Well, they all do it. The Democrats do it. Why should we not be able to do it?” Everybody is doing it, so why can’t we?

Well, you cannot because that act lowers you to the level of your opponent, and you seem pretty adamant that you are better than they are. You cannot because a negative action should not be used to justify a negative action.

But, more importantly, is everybody doing it? The challenge was issued to those on the right in this discussion to cite evidence of liberal or Democratic members of congress acting in a premeditated organized manner to disallow conservatives from speaking on the house floor. The responses were both weak and irrelevant. It is odd that someone would consider a video posted by a relatively unknown private citizen on Moveon.org as being equal to a congressman shouting procedural objections at inappropriate times and for inappropriate reasons. The first is a person expressing their opinion, the second is someone preventing a person from expressing their opinion. This was a predictable knee jerk defense of a political strategy that, from a purists point of view, is difficult to defend or justify. The strategy is to shoot first and ask questions later. Sadly the question should be “Has there been a situation in congress where Democrats have openly acted to prevent an opponents ability to express their opinion”? I would like some help on that, because if there is I would like to know about it. As I Google I am finding the answer is no. Even Traficant, who was notoriously frank in congress, directed his outbursts at his own party as often as he directed them at the conservatives. and I never recall him going to a mic and loudly repeating noise to distract people from hearing the words of his opponent.

But all of these things are the gentle rumblings of an aftershock of the asshat earthquake that happened in congress on the evening of September 9th, 2009. This was the evening Joe Wilson heard the president claim that the bill would not provide health care for illegal immigrants and shouted “You Lie” during a presidential address. In and of itself this is regrettable but the apology has been made. The bigger issue is that Joe Wilson – a man charged by his people to comprehend and act on legislation – obviously missed section 246 of HR3200 that says:

SEC. 246. NO FEDERAL PAYMENT FOR UNDOCUMENTED ALIENS.

Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States.

Sadly in the course of the facebook discussion I cited Section 347 of HR 3962 (a bill that did not even exist when Wilson made his comment) which says:

SEC. 347. NO FEDERAL PAYMENT FOR UNDOCUMENTED ALIENS.

Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States.

This is why I should not engage in political discussions on facebook while making ciabatta. I don’t pay attention! Still, it seems either bill is a suitable defense against the statement.

Assuming Wilson is a smart guy. Why would he miss this obvious passage in 3200?

One theory I have is that he is really at odds with The Immigration and Nationality act of 1952 – Section 15 of act 101. It is too long to post here but I encourage you to read it. Why would he not directly address that bill and instead choose to overlay his agenda on a bill that merely references it? From overhearing conversations around me over the past…oh….seven or eight years it isn’t too hard to escape the conclusion that there are those among us that assume all immigrants are illegal, but Wilson is hopefully smarter than that.

Another thought – The problem Wilson has with the bill actually has nothing to do with immigration. It has to do with protecting the interests of a health care industry that has gave him $414,00 over the eight years of his term plus a contribution from the insurance industry of $455,000. With numbers like those, you want to be pretty public about your opposition. Maybe you look for reasons within reasons when you oppose a bill because you are being paid to do so, but you cannot disclose that fact.

A third thought – I have never seen a segment of America rally around a president like our current one, but I have also not seen a segment of America rally against a president like this either. During the campaign many of the complaints were things like “I just don’t trust him” or “He’s a socialist/he reminds me of Hitler”. It was as if there was some unstated reason that they really didn’t like him but they lacked the courage to just say it. It must be something pretty bad if you try to hide it with a softball that compares the man to Hitler. I think all of us know about the history of this country. Perhaps when you oppose a president for personal reasons, you look for anything to grab at.

The final reason might be the most disturbing. That he honestly believes that the bill provides for this, and has not read it.

When I see people on TV at town hall meetings shouting things like “Keep your government hands off my medicare” I wince. But can we blame anyone for not knowing even these basic facts? The bill(s) are all well over 1000 pages. People are busy working multiple jobs to keep their homes in what has increasingly become referred to as “this economy”. Neither bill is entertaining to read unless you enjoy researching. Our education system, saddled with the pointless load-stone of standardized testing is slowly producing a nation of people with no critical thinking skills, but excellent Jeopardy skills. I have only read the parts of the bill that I needed to in order to fact check things like “death panels” and “abortion on demand” for myself and I consider myself fortunate to have the time and desire to do so.

As an independent voter, I am prone to agree with either party and sometimes with neither party. I think that statement is true of most Americans that do not live on the edges of the political spectrum out of some irrational need to be extreme. I have a hard time letting the RNC off the hook on these issues. The issue is not about beliefs, it is about behavior. As soon as we dismiss the immediate “well they did it too” response we have to deal with behavior that has been going on since January and the fact that it has been happening with a degree that is unheard of in this country. Tea parties organized by a television network, encouraged by the media, then treated as a spontaneous outpouring of contrary belief and anti Obamaian dissent? Comparing a man to Adolf Hitler? Really? Do you understand making that statement implies that you have no understanding of recent historical events since oh, say, 1920?

The final rub is that by saying this I am now a liberal, because the conservative party in this country has become a group that you must either be in complete agreeance with, or you are a liberal. There seems to be no span between the two extremes, and no room for public dissent. You are either Sith or Jedi, and if you are one of us, you agree with all we say. Choose now. It’s an easy choice actually. We need to understand that the elections this past week say something entirely different than either party thinks. First, it is not a sweeping validation of any agenda. Virginia had a weak Democratic candidate. Second, it is not a meaningless local election. If anything voters were sending the signal that the Democrats are screwing around way too much. You were elected with a mandate. Why are wasting everyone’s time by not acting on it decisively? If you aren’t going to act on it why should I vote for you again? The conservatives seem to have the organization and logistics of a Greek Phalanx, the liberals seem to have the organization and logistics of an episode of Teletubbies.

In this sort of climate it is easy to see Wilson and the objectors as a cheerleader for a team of special interests, that team being blessed with a cheering section that in many cases doesn’t have the resources or the desire to check the validity of what they are cheering about. Wilson’s epic fail is not that he was wrong in a wholly antithetical way, but that those who support him do not realize it, or do not want to.

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