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| Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C. speaks to reporters outside of his office on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009. |
WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Rep. Joe Wilson is known as a mild-mannered congressman fond of making short speeches. His shortest got the most attention. "You lie!" Wilson blurted out during President Barack Obama's health care address to a joint session Wednesday night, an outburst that made some supporters shudder even as others believed it could give Wilson a political boost in his conservative hometown.
"He's the only one who has guts in that whole place. He'll get re-elected in a landslide," said John Roper, an insurance agent, as he sat among patrons at a diner near Columbia.
Still, Southern sensibilities reign in the district Wilson has represented for the past eight years. Added Roper, "He probably shouldn't have said it in that context."
Wilson apologized to the White House soon after the speech and again Thursday, but did not back away from the issue that prompted his outburst. "People who have come to our country and violated laws, we should not be providing full health care services," he said.
His heckle came after Obama said extending health care to all Americans who seek it would not mean insuring illegal immigrants.
The House version of the health care bill explicitly prohibits spending any federal money to help illegal immigrants get health care. Illegal immigrants could buy private health insurance, as many do now, but wouldn't get tax subsidies to help them. Still, Republicans say there aren't sufficient citizenship verification requirements to ensure illegal immigrants are excluded.
In Wilson's district, many voters said the heckle wouldn't affect their support for him. Some said they wished more politicians would speak their minds - but most said they wished it hadn't happened.
"Joe was very immature. He's always been pretty under control. I'm a little embarrassed," said Roy Smith, a business manager who spoke as he ate breakfast in Cayce. "I voted for Joe and probably still will."
Wilson, who served as a military attorney, retired as a colonel in the South Carolina National Guard in 2003 after 31 years. His four sons also have served in the military, something mentioned repeatedly at Wilson's public appearances in this military-friendly state. For some, that background makes the outburst against the nation's commander in chief even more striking.
"I thought it was disgraceful," said the Rev. Kevin Roberts, who said he doesn't support Wilson. "I don't begrudge him his feeling. But I think there's a way to communicate that and a way not to, and I think it's shameful. I expect more decorum and respect for the office."
House Democratic leaders showed no interest in seeking sanctions against Wilson, who is known in Congress for giving one-minute speeches when the floor is open for short statements on any topic.
But his shout is giving a financial boost to his Democratic opponent. Wilson's 2008 opponent - a former Marine named Rob Miller, who is challenging him again in 2010 - said he has received more than $450,000 in contributions since Wednesday night. It's not clear whether the people who made the donations live in South Carolina.
The Republican Congressional Campaign Committee didn't respond to questions about donations to his own campaign. All of Wilson's e-mail and phone mailboxes are full.
In a statement, Miller criticized Wilson's behavior as childish and said it reflects what is wrong with Washington. Miller last year gave Wilson his most serious challenge since winning a 2001 special election to fill the vacancy left by the death of Republican Floyd Spence.
The district stretches across 10 counties from central to coastal South Carolina and hasn't elected a Democrat to Congress since 1965. It encompasses wide economic contrasts: Allendale County has the state's highest unemployment rate - 22.5 percent in July - while Lexington County has the lowest rate at 8 percent.
His district is also home to some of the state's largest military installations: the Army's Fort Jackson outside Columbia, and two major Marine Corps facilities - Parris Island Training Depot and the Marine Corps Air Station - both near Beaufort.
Wilson has been confrontational in the past. During the 2004 presidential campaign, he demanded that Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., apologize for his 1971 comments criticizing those who served in Vietnam. Former Democratic Sen. Max Cleland of Georgia, who lost both legs and an arm in Vietnam, defended Kerry and called Wilson a "chicken hawk" for supporting military action without going to war.
Wilson's eldest son, Alan - who is running for state attorney general - agreed Thursday that his father chose the wrong place to vent, but said the heckle shows that "what the president said really struck a chord."
"He is a very even-keel and calm person. My dad never gets upset," Alan Wilson said. "Last night, Dad's emotions got the better of him. ... I'm proud of my father for apologizing for the venue he voiced his opposition. I'm also proud of him for calling the president out."
