President Obama addressed a joint session of Congress on Wednesday night to speak on the health care issue. At one point he stated that illegal immigrants would not be covered by the health care plans being discussed. A republican-conservative congressman from South Carolina, Joe Wilson, yelled out "You Lie". This outburst brought a momentary silence to the chamber and a pause by the President. Wilson was elected in 2001 and is up for re-election in 2010. (For all the congressional speeches I have listened to over the last 35 years this was the first such disrespectful comment aimed at a sitting president).
Follow up: There are other examples of "heckling" that have occured in the US congress over the years. In 1838 two congressman fought a duel over "...words spoken on the House floor"; one died. Of course, we all know of the 1856 attack on Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner by South Carolina congressman Preston Brooks. However, this article makes the following statement regarding the statement by Wilson. "Yet there's little if any historical precedent for a US congressman individually challenging a president during a speech to Congress-let alone accusing him of lying...".
(Source: "A history of heckling" by Jocelyn Noveck of the AP. In the Virginian Pilot on 9/12/09).
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