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Kathleen Parker lies while trying to play down Joe Wilson's "You lie!" behavior

September 11, 2009 8:45 am ET by Eric Boehlert

Wilson's hateful and unhinged outburst wasn't' really that bad, writes Parker, because members of Congress have always done rude things while presidents address Congress, like when Sen. John McCain was caught napping during one of Bush's speeches.

I'm not kidding. That's what Parker wrote.

Do false equivalencies come any more lame than that? Indeed they do, because Parker's just getting started. She also notes that Hillary Clinton once wore a nasty expression on her face when Bush spoke to Congress, which let's face it, is just like calling interrupting the President of the United States on national television and calling him a liar. (And, of course, lying about him being a liar.)

It gets even worse. Parker then goes back and simply reinvents history by claiming that Democrats were "booing and heckling Bush throughout his 2005 address."

Parker here is flat out lying here. Go watch the clip of Democrats allegedly "booing and heckling Bush" in 2005, which conservatives eagerly posting on the Internet yesterday. See for yourself what a joke it is to suggest the Democratic groans that arose when Bush was fear mongering about the state of Social Security, were the same as Wilson's clarion and unhinged "Your lie!" outburst.

And a personal challenge to Parker: Please substantiate your claim that the so-called "booing and heckling" of Bush in 2005 lasted throughout his 2005 address. Not even the factually-challenged right-wing blogosphere is making that preposterous claim.

UPDATED: Parker just plays massively dumb throughout the column [emphasis added]:

South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson seems to have set a precedent Wednesday night when he called the president a liar during a joint session of Congress. That's the official word from House deputy historian Fred Beuttler, who says that though cheering and jeering between parties are commonplace, a single individual seldom steals the floor.

Why the "seems"? Parker quotes a House historian who says nobody's done what Wilson did. But since her point is to pretend the "You lie!" was no big deal, Parker suggests it might have not been so novel.

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    • Author by Easy to refute wingnuts (September 11, 2009 9:16 am ET)
      6  
      Parker just plays massively dumb throughout the column
      She's not playing. She is massively dumb.
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      • Author by NiceguyEddie (September 11, 2009 12:08 pm ET)
           
        In other news, the Detoit Lions were accused of thorwing games last season...
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    • Author by TavernWench (September 11, 2009 9:37 am ET)
         
      I really don't know how much more of this I can take. For example, I'm pretty sure Joe Scarborough majored in "False Equivalencies" in college, if today's disgusting show was any indication. I can't stand being put in a position to defend Joe Klein, but Scarborough absolutely ambushed him this morning, attacking his piece, setting him up with misleading quotes from Democrats about General Petraeus, and fillibustered so Klein was defenseless. When Joe Klein finally was able to get a word in, he said "But the left mostly attacked Bush because he led us into a war based upon false pretenses," Scarborough pounced and said, "There! Left-wing hate speech."

      It was just the most disgusting display, it really was. Hoping MM gets the video.

      Does the GOP email out False Equivalency talking points nightly? Jamison's post late last night pointed out the Politico article, and this morning, Scarborough sounded almost to the punctuation exactly like the Politico article. Huh. Why if I didn't know better I'd say all of this is coordinated! ;-)
      Report Abuse
    • Author by Arch (September 11, 2009 9:50 am ET)
         
      The truth hurts. It was no big deal since Obama is lying.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by magnolialover (September 11, 2009 10:24 am ET)
      4 1
      I hate to play the "If a democrat did this to Bush" card, but can you possibly imagine what we'd be seeing from these same defenders of Wilson?

      Oh man, the hate would be incredible. I'm sure the MSM would already be talking about how the democrat should resign because of his/her outburst.

      Just basing my opinion on reactions we've seen from these hacks in the past on even smaller matters. I mean, heck, democrats disagreed with Bush on some things and were branded traitors, sympathetic to terrorists, and wanting the terrorists to win.

      I also never remember democratic members of Congress holding up protest signs during Bush's speeches, ever. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure I'm not.
      Report Abuse
      • Author by The_Cat (September 11, 2009 10:42 am ET)
        4 1
        Remember the Dixie Chicks, magnolialover? Playing a concert in London, said how unfortunate it was that Bush was also from Texas, got big cheers? Until they came home, of course, where they were crushed under overwhelming negative attacks for making even a slightly disparaging remark about 'a war time president', among other things. I submit that we -know- how the Republicans and the media would react.

        When Speaker Pelosi said that the CIA lied to her (not even the President, but just the CIA), the news cycle was dominated not by the fact that she was correct (she had in fact been lied to), but by media pundits calling for her resignation.

        Protesters at town hall meetings shouting and disrupting any civil discourse on health coverage reform? Patriotic.

        Protesters at an anti-war rally shouting and engaging in civil disobedience? Traitors, communists, terrorist sympathizers, et cetera ad nauseum.

        The media is clearly not liberal, nor yet centrist, it is primarily a voice of the conservatives. I have a feeling that pendulum may begin to swing back, and I hope it does and soon. Until then, MMfA, keep calling 'em like you see 'em!
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        • Author by ygreene (September 11, 2009 11:15 am ET)
             
          The_Cat,
          I'm sorry, but the Dixie Chicks making a comment at a concert in London is not the same as a State Representative yelling at the President during a live, televised, national address! Are you kidding me?
          And let's examine Rep. Joe Wilson's claim that the President "lied". The President stated that the healthcare bill will not provide for illegal aliens. This is, in fact, the truth. The bill clearly states this will not happen. However, if individual states or even doctors themselves continue to treat illegal aliens, then that is a decision being made by those individuals. Hence, the President did not lie.
          Rep. Wilson is entitled to his opinion, like any other American citizen. However, he does not have the right to disrespect our nation's leader the way he did. I for one, as a citizen of the state of SC, have never been more embarrassed than I was Tuesday night....even after the Gov. Mark Sanford scandal!
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        • Author by NiceguyEddie (September 11, 2009 12:13 pm ET)
          1 1
          As long as we have people like in the world Joe Wilson (and Michelle Bachman, Sarah Palin, Sam Wurhzelbacher and that bunch of over-65's telling the gov't to 'stay out of medicare!') the COUNTRY will continue to realize how incompetent, greedy, stupid and downright unhinged the Republican Party and the Conservative movement are. The more these people 'speak their minds' the more of their own stupidity they reveal and the more 'liberal' the country will become - not becuase anyones views will actually change; they'll just come to realize how mind-numbingly stupid the people who turned "liberal" into a bad word actually are! And as that vernacular and cultural shifts continues the media will need to shift beck to the liberal side as well, just to survive in the market.
          Report Abuse
          • Author by historygeek001 (September 11, 2009 1:04 pm ET)
            2 1
            I hope you're right, but I find myself torn between hoping people will realize the lies and "never underestimating the power of human stupidity." The Republicans and their mouthpieces are spending so many millions of dollars to lie to everybody and a huge number of people simply swallow the lies whole without examining them at all. I mean, really -- Obamacare will kill old people; Obamacare will deliberately exclude Republicans; Obama is not an American citizen; Obama is a nazi/socialist/communist racist muslim who hates white people despite being half white and he went to a christian church for 20 years and is plotting to take over the country using AmeriCorps? Come on, this is BEYOND ridiculous, but all these absurd lies are getting MSM media coverage as if there were some legitimate reason to even address such completely ridiculous falsehoods. Wilson screams You lie!" during a speech given by the POTUS and not only does the media ignore the fact that WILSON was lying, they cover for him! WTF??? Responding to manufactured hysteria with facts doesn't work because the wingnuts ignore facts (birthers are still getting airtime) and lie openly almost without fear of contradiction. In fact, when a host does call them on their BS, that (briefly) becomes a news story itself. How does the reality-based community compete with this?
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            • Author by NiceguyEddie (September 11, 2009 1:59 pm ET)
              1 1
              "never underestimat[e] the power of human stupidity."

              Yes, sir, this IS a wise sentiment.

              I also say "Never attribute to malice that which can be explained by stupidity."

              But Republicans, BOTH often apply rather aptly...

              Hence my mantra that "Conservtaives only come in two flavours: Evil and Stupid. One lies, the other buys."

              BTW, here is a FANTASTIC paper about HUMAN STUPIDITY. Definitelly worth a read. Hilarious, and FULL of wisdom!
              http://wwwcsif.cs.ucdavis.edu/~leeey/stupidity/basic.htm
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              • Author by historygeek001 (September 11, 2009 5:07 pm ET)
                  1
                I've never seen that paper before--it's PERFECT!

                I think I'm going to have to agree with your mantra, and I think the lines are blurry (see Beck and Palin).
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                • Author by NiceguyEddie (September 12, 2009 8:14 pm ET)
                     
                  No, no, no...

                  Beck and Palin are PERFECT EXAMPLES! Those two, especially Palin, I think are WAAAY to stupid to really be considered evil! Beck is stupid, but I think he's also clinically insane.

                  ----------------------------------------------------------
                  Come over to my blog to debate Health Care!
                  http://eddiecabot.blogspot.com/
                  Report Abuse
    • Author by shaggles (September 11, 2009 2:13 pm ET)
      1 1
      I can defend Joe Wilson better than that: When Sen Wilson shouted 'You lie!' during the President's address to Congress people jumped to the conclusion that that he was referring to what the President was speaking about at that moment. This seems like a stretch to me. If that's what he meant he would more likely have shouted "That's a lie!" "You lie!" could be referring to just about anything and frankly don't we all lie from time to time. Sometimes a lie can be the kindest way of handling a situation. When your child brings home a painting that looks like something you used to clean up after the dog you tell her it's beautiful. That's the mark of a good supportive parent. Perhaps what the good Senator was really saying is "I think you're a great father, President Obama!" Or perhaps the President and Sen Wilson had been engaging in some good natured trash talk about their favorite sports teams just prior to the speech and the Senator had just come up with a pithy response to something the President had said about the Panthers. Who knows? I think we all need to give Sen Wilson the benefit of the doubt.
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      • Author by NiceguyEddie (September 11, 2009 2:31 pm ET)
        1  
        Wow. You're totally right. That's complete tripe and yet STILL a much better defense tham she came up with!
        Report Abuse
        • Author by shaggles (September 11, 2009 2:58 pm ET)
          1 1
          Thank you. But this right wing apologist stuff is a piece of cake. I'm going to see if I can get my own column in the WSJ or WaPo.
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          • Author by NiceguyEddie (September 11, 2009 4:26 pm ET)
               
            Just don't get too ambitious - it would break my heart to see you on Fox! LOL
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