You Have GOT To Play By The Rules

In response to Congressman Joe Wilson's "outburst" (you say outburst, I say true statement) the other night, the Honorable Louise Slaughter has seen fit to send out a reminder of the etiquette to be followed during meetings of the House. In part, those rules state:

Under section 370 of the House Rules and Manual it has been held that a member could not:

• call the President a “liar.”
• call the President a “hypocrite.”
• describe the President’s veto of a bill as “cowardly.”
• charge that the President has been “intellectually dishonest.”
• refer to the President as “giving aid and comfort to the enemy.”
• refer to alleged “sexual misconduct on the President’s part.”

So, if I were a Congressman, I could NOT say something like "as exhibited by repeated instances of intellectual dishonesty, the President has shown himself to be a liar. He has lied on so many occasions (health care, past political relationships, bailout, spending, race, etc.) that it is easier to count the number of times he's told the truth. His endless apologies to the rest of the world on our behalf is in itself a very cowardly act because he thinks he can protect us by appeasing the world. These apologies and his repeated coddling of Arab leaders at the expense of our allies gives aid and comfort to the enemy. On top of that, he is a hypocrite because even though he billed himself as the post-racial president, statements regarding the actions of the Cambridge police belie his prejudices. The good news is that he does not appear to be guilty of any sexual misconduct like Bill Clinton was, but hold tight ... there's still time."

Fortunately, I'm not a Congressman.