The Washington Monthly

November 3, 2009

WILSON'S H1N1 ATTACK.... Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) -- you know, the "you lie" heckler -- has some interesting thoughts on the public health emergency posed by the H1N1 flu virus. Naturally, he blames President Obama, not for the virus, but for the scarcity of the vaccine.

"The current administration is solely responsible. They can't blame this on any prior administration," Wilson said. "This is the responsibility of the current administration. They've put the lives of Americans at risk."

Putting aside the fact that no one has tried to blame Bush/Cheney for a flu virus, Wilson was a little vague as to how the president and his team put American lives at risk. He can't point to anything in particular -- probably because the administration has done everything it could to this point -- but Wilson still insists the White House is "solely responsible" for the problem. Just because.

Of course, the criticism does offer Dems an opportunity to take a closer look at Wilson's record on the same subject.

In a release issued on Thursday, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee claimed that any criticism of H1N1 policy by the GOP would amount to hypocrisy.
The DCCC pointed to a June vote on a supplementary appropriations bill as evidence. Wilson joined 95% of Republicans and voted against the bill, which contained special funding to combat H1N1 both domestically and internationally. But the bill also contained other much more money for other plans and programs Republicans at the time viewed as wasteful, including the Cash-For-Clunkers car purchase incentive program.

Still, the DCCC says that a vote against the bill essentially equaled a vote against combating H1N1 and means Republicans who voted against it like Wilson favored a public health program that would have resulted in even less vaccine than is available now.

"The families, schools, and businesses fighting against the H1N1 flu pandemic deserve better than House Republicans' reckless, knee jerk partisanship and just-say-no approach to helping prepare for this national emergency," DCCC spokesperson Ryan Rudominer said in a statement released Oct. 27.

Here's guessing Wilson hadn't remembered this vote when he decided to describe Obama as "solely responsible" for the problem.

—Steve Benen 11:25 AM Permalink | Trackbacks | Comments (24)

Comments

Joe Wilson is a complete jackass. He fits in perfectly in today's republican party.

Posted by: Patrick on November 3, 2009 at 11:36 AM | PERMALINK

and let's not mention that many of Wilson's fellow travelers are claiming that Obama is trying to force people to take the vaccine.

Talking out of both sides of their mouths - it's the Republican Way.

Posted by: Stranger on November 3, 2009 at 11:40 AM | PERMALINK

^^ I was going to say, isn't this some government socialist serum and not a vaccination

Posted by: Trollop on November 3, 2009 at 11:42 AM | PERMALINK

Joe Wilson's bullshit works. Nobody cares that he voted against the bill. he doesn't care either.

Blame Obama that the vaccine hasn't been manufactured and distributed. Fuck! Mussolini'd have that god damn vaccine in the hands of physicians yesterday!

They are nihilists and only want to gain power -- they will do or say anything.

Posted by: neill on November 3, 2009 at 11:47 AM | PERMALINK

Who held up the appointment of Obama's Surgeon General, Dr. Regina Benjamin, for the last 6 months while the H1N1 virus spread?

Senate Republicans, that's who. Why do they hate America??

Posted by: pj in jesusland on November 3, 2009 at 11:48 AM | PERMALINK

It's almost as if they're itching for a national emergency or tragedy so they can blame Obama. I believe they are rooting for terrorists to strike, a widespread epidemic, a mishandled natural disaster... ANYTHING to give them the chance to take the focus off of the BushCo fiasco of 2001-2008.

Posted by: danimal on November 3, 2009 at 11:48 AM | PERMALINK

Remember during the Bush administration when they couldn't even get the regular flu vaccine right, and there were humongous delays and shortages due to sheer incompetence? I don't remember Wilson complaining then.

Posted by: gradysu on November 3, 2009 at 11:57 AM | PERMALINK

Oh so NOW, they love socialized medicine?

The vaccine is privately manufactured, and almost all hospitals are private - so why didn't the free market work?

Posted by: Ohioan on November 3, 2009 at 11:57 AM | PERMALINK

Wilson joined 95% of Republicans and voted against the bill, which contained special funding to combat H1N1 both domestically and internationally

GAH! It's enough to make a clown's head explode.

Posted by: Bobo Teh Clown on November 3, 2009 at 11:59 AM | PERMALINK

Give him a week. Then he'll be blaming Obama for the virus, which was probably manufactured in Kenya.

Posted by: rbe1 on November 3, 2009 at 11:59 AM | PERMALINK

Oh c'mon! I'm SURE the Republicans had ANOTHER bill to support H1N1, they just weren't ALLOWED to bring it to the floor...

Isn't this the new TALKING POINT???

Posted by: sysprog on November 3, 2009 at 12:00 PM | PERMALINK

"Here's guessing Wilson hadn't remembered this vote when he decided to describe Obama as "solely responsible" for the problem."

*I'M* guessing *YOU'RE* wrong.

If he thought he could get away with it, he'd rape the corpse of his grandfather and claim that really Obama did it. And if DNA evidence proved Obama didn't do it and Wilson did, he'd claim Obama made him do it.

Wilson's like Luther in The Warriors, doing all the damage, then pointing at Obama saying "It was him! I SAW him do it!"

These are the types of a-holes who will try to make a teabag revolution come. And they will be the sniveling cowards who will claim innocence when blood spills and martyrs fall and that revolution inevitably fails.

And death will be too good for them.

Posted by: slappy magoo on November 3, 2009 at 12:04 PM | PERMALINK

I don't know about you, but when I think, "sustained and serious public health infrastructure investment" I automatically think "Republican party."

Cough.

Posted by: inkadu on November 3, 2009 at 12:28 PM | PERMALINK

This is a moment for all the Alan Graysons to step forward and speak. The truth is so over the top as to make it sensational. Even the Maggots of MSM will report it as Dems going postal, but the truth will come out and the conversation will have begun.

This Joe Wilson should have his closet exposed, as the other Joe Wilson's wife was outed by Cheney. I think there is enough dirt on these hypocrites as to make even the Christianists question their positions. I know this is a scattered post, but so many ideas come through at once that I cannot control them. Sort of like Republican talking points: sometimes you just have to let your words flow without filter.

Posted by: st john on November 3, 2009 at 12:36 PM | PERMALINK

This is curious to me how Obama is to blame for the manufacturing part of the vaccine. That is the delay. I would hope people would understand it is a new strain of flu, had to be made specifically for the virus, and tested before it could be released. I don't know what they expected the admin to do. Last I checked, the gov does not manufacture drugs.

Also, there were 7 Senators who had a hold on the Surgeon General since July during a flu pandemic. Once this was pointed out on TV & people started calling McConnell, they voted quickly last week and confirmed her.

Posted by: cat on November 3, 2009 at 12:55 PM | PERMALINK

I just wanna know how all of these fine patriots on the right can continue to undermine their Commander-in-Chief during wartime? I distinctly remember the various right-wing talkers loudly decrying such behavior during late 2001-late 2008.

Posted by: bikelib on November 3, 2009 at 12:57 PM | PERMALINK

Joe Wilson is "solely responsible" for being an idiot.

Posted by: Big Jim Slade on November 3, 2009 at 1:16 PM | PERMALINK

It's almost as if they're itching for a national emergency or tragedy.

Whadya mean "as if"?

Posted by: Bobo Teh Clown on November 3, 2009 at 1:28 PM | PERMALINK

Apparently Joe Wilson thinks that if you scream enough at those eggs they will grow the surem faster. You go Joe scream at those eggs until you turn blue in the face and see how much vaccine you get.

Posted by: nodak on November 3, 2009 at 1:48 PM | PERMALINK

H1N1 is a strange beast.

Vaccinating everyone for it won't necessarily halt the spread of the virus, just slow it.

The virus mutates. Who's to say that a vaccine won't be worthless in a few month's time anyway?

The key is a strong immune response in the population.

So far, Wilson is the one who is immune to being even the slightest bit intelligent in the general H1N1 debate.

He rants. The media raves. I bet he has no clue what a virus is, what it does in the human body, how mutations occur constantly, etc.

Blaming Obama for the spread of the virus is equivalent to blaming him for sunspots.

Posted by: Tom Nicholson on November 3, 2009 at 2:41 PM | PERMALINK

There is some interesting data suggesting that keeping your vitamin D level optimal will prevent colds, flu and in particular H1N1 (swine Flu).
Here are links to two interesting articles:

August 2009-Vitamin D3 deficiency and its role in influenza
http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs026/1102452079631/archive/1102685428884.html
Sept 2009-More on Vitamin D3 and influenza
http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs026/1102452079631/archive/1102728693089.html

If these links don’t work go to www.vitaminD3world.com and click on ‘In the news” to find these updates.

Posted by: toby on November 3, 2009 at 9:50 PM | PERMALINK

[If you had not sockpuppeted a comment extolling your own brilliance this comment would have stayed up. But you sockpuppeted so it went bye-bye. -Mod]