Joe Wilson has become that guy. The Republican Representative from South Carolina who blurted out “You lie!” during Obama’s healthcare speech last night
and then spent the rest of the joint session of Congress scrolling through his BlackBerry, has become the subject of a new Web site: Joe Wilson Is Your Preexisting Condition, in which he is blamed for all sorts of boorish behavior. Mediate has picked out some of the choicest ones like “Joe Wilson heated up fish in your office microwave” and “Joe Wilson talked on his BlackBerry all through your favorite movie,” not to mention “Joe Wilson distracted you from one of the most important speeches from an American president in the past 20 years.”
Wilson quickly apologized after condemnations from both sides of the aisle, but as Politico reports, his outburst only galvanized Democrats around health care reform and the Wall Street Journal reports that, overnight, his Democratic rival raised about $200,000 from 5,000 people. Way to go, Joe.
Alexandra Fenwick is an assistant editor at CJR.