ワシントンで会ったジョー・ウィルソン議員―オバマ大統領への「ウソだ」で譴責 |
下記ニュースについて
オバマ大統領の演説中に「ユー・ライ(うそだ)」と野次を飛ばしたジョー・ウィルソン下院議員(共和党)に対する譴責決議が下院で採択された(240対179。賛成者はほとんどが民主党議員。棄権者もかなりいる)。
オバマ民主党がこだわる医療保険の公営拡大案に対しては、米国民の間で、日を追って反対の声が高まってきた。
民間活力を奪う社会主義的発想であり、低所得層(潜在的有権者である不法移民も含め、民主党支持者が多い)の票を税金で買おうとする党派的行為だというのが、反対論の中心だ。
また、医療機関の混雑が悪化し、至るところ「行列」になる事態を怖れる高齢者の間では、党派を越えて、批判的傾向が強いようである。
ウィルソン議員譴責について、保守派の人気ラジオ・ホスト、ラッシュ・リンボーは次のように述べている。
もし下院が、実際、ジョー・ウィルソンを譴責するなら、素晴らしいことだ!ここだけの話だが、そうなって欲しい。その時、彼は、議会史上最も政治献金が集まる議員となるだろう。
"If the House of Representatives actually vote to censure Joe Wilson, it's great. Just between us, we want that to happen. He will then become the single biggest fundraiser in congressional history. " -Rush
ウィルソン議員の野次の背後に人種差別意識があると非難するリベラル派の議員や評論家もいるが、それは違うだろう。
実は数年前、ワシントンで、拉致被害者家族の代表とともに、同議員に会ったことがある。
日本から来たわれわれの話を真剣に聞いた後、同議員は、「今から本会議場に投票に行くから、一緒に来ないか。色々案内するよ」と、実際解説を加えつつ一同を先導し、秘書に命じて議場の見晴らしのよい場所に座らせてくれた。「息子がイラクで戦っている」という話も、確かその時聞いたと思う。
黒人や黄色人種を下に見るという感じなど全くない、保守的で気さくなよい議員というのが、今に至るまでの私の印象だ。
イザ!ニュース
大統領に「うそつき」と叫んで譴責 米下院議員
2009/09/16 13:48更新
米下院は15日、オバマ大統領が上下両院合同会議で行った演説の最中に「ユー・ライ(おまえはうそをついている)」と大声でやじを飛ばしたジョー・ウィルソン下院議員(共和党)に対する譴責(けんせき)決議を240対179の賛成多数で採択した。
AP通信は下院事務局の話として、大統領の演説中のやじに対する譴責決議が採択されたのは史上初めてと伝えた。決議に罰則はない。
ウィルソン議員は大統領が医療保険改革の実現を訴えた9日夜の演説で、不法移民に保険を提供することはないと発言した直後に絶叫。議員は同日中にホワイトハウス側に電話し非礼を謝罪していたが、民主党議員らが要求した議会での謝罪は拒否した。(共同)
Townhall.com
Lawmaker's 'You lie' outburst draws House rebuke
AP News
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Bitterly divided along party lines, the House formally rebuked Republican Rep. Joe Wilson Tuesday for shouting "You lie" at President Barack Obama during last week's nationally televised speech to Congress.
The rare resolution of disapproval was pushed through by Democrats insisting that Wilson, a
The final tally late Tuesday was 240-179, generally but not entirely along party lines. It was 233 Democrats and seven Republicans voting to chastise Wilson, 167 Republicans and 12 Democrats opposing the measure and five Democrats merely voting "present."
"The resolution is not about the substance of an issue but about the conduct we expect of one another in the course of doing our business," declared House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., who sponsored the measure with Democratic Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C.
Republicans tended to strongly disagree.
"We're here on some witch hunt, some partisan stunt that the American people are not going to respect," said Republican leader John Boehner of
One of the Democrats voting "present," Barney Frank of Massachusetts, said, "I think it's bad precedent to put us in charge of deciding whether people act like jerks. I don't have time to monitor everyone's civility."
Tuesday's short resolution said
The Office of the House Historian said the resolution marked the first time in the 220-year history of the House that a member had been admonished for speaking out while the president was giving an address. A resolution of disapproval is less severe than other disciplinary action available to the House, including censure or expulsion.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi initially said she was inclined to "move on" and not take further action against Wilson, and Democrats, joined by some Republicans, told
But the five-term conservative would not.
"I think it is clear to the American people that there are far more important issues facing this nation than what we're addressing right now,"
"This is not a partisan stunt," said Clyburn, whose district in
A leading member of the Congressional Black Caucus, Clyburn perceived it as a snub that
There have been suggestions that recent harsh criticism of Obama has been at least partly motivated by race. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., current head of the Congressional Black Caucus, said that "today is about the civility and decorum of the House." But she added that we "can't sweep race under the rug _ racism is still a factor and must be addressed."
Rep. Candice Miller, R-Mich., one of seven Republicans speaking in
The dispute did draw a spotlight to the issue of benefits for illegal immigrants. Senators trying to negotiate a bipartisan deal, with the endorsement of the White House, are moving to craft a compromise bill that strengthens verification requirements. That could please some Republicans but also antagonize Hispanic lawmakers sensitive to rules making it harder for people to obtain health care.
"I feel like progress has been really made in regard to citizenship verification,"
A House Rules Committee summary of guidelines for members states that while it is permissible to challenge the president on matters of policy during debate, personal attacks are off limits. House rules note that a member could refer to a presidential message as a "disgrace to the nation" but it would be impermissible to call the president a "liar," a "hypocrite" or say he was "giving aid and comfort to the enemy."
In 2007 Republicans unsuccessfully introduced a censure resolution against Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., for saying during debate that
The
After the vote, some people in
An apology to the House? "He shouldn't have to do that. The president accepted his apology," said Tommy Silvester, 31, of
Even
"But one apology was definitely enough," said Sean O'Connell, a 29-year-old salesman from
Associated Press Writer Seanna Adcox in