Congressional civility

During the Comrade's speech to congress the other night, when the Comrade said something about how illegal immigrants won't qualify to benefit from socialized medicine here, a representative from South Carolina, Joe Wilson, hollered out, "You lie!"

I heard the shout at the time, but couldn't make out the words. Or I probably would have sent Rep. Wilson a dozen roses. Wilson's assessment of the Comrade's statements very closely matches my own. Although... has it been officially established yet exactly what bill the Comrade considers to be "his" bill? Not sure about that yet. Who knows, maybe that fantasy piece of perfect legislation that the Comrade has hidden under his pillow expressly forbids extending socialized medicine to illegal aliens. No one's seen that bill yet.

Anyway, the mainstream media, prefering to ignore larger and more damning scandals surrounding groups like Acorn, has been playing up the "You lie!" comment. Wilson apologized right away to the White House. Apparently he spoke to Rahm Emanuel, who accepted the apology. But some people, maybe Pazzo Pelosi among them, have suggested that Rep. Wilson apologize to the Comrade in front of the whole House.

Oh, these people just don't know history. Actually, a lot worse has happened in congress. If you want to read some really juicy speeches, I suggest you browse the old Congressional Globe, the forerunner to the Congressional Record. Congresscritters have habitually insulted each other -- not always in very polished language, either -- and many have taken shots at presidents. Including Harry Reid, in references to George Bush, but we all know the Democrats accept no obligation to treat Republicans with any respect. That street only goes one way.

At any rate, I thought Davy Crockett had gotten into a fist fight in congress once. He was well-known as a fighter, also for having considerable integrity. But the incident seems to be this:

Crockett disagreed with then-President Andrew Jackson on a few issues. Eventually, this mean Crockett losing elections and leaving congress. But during one campaign, Crockett's opponent, a guy named William Fitzgerald, who supported Jackson, called Crockett a liar. Crockett went after Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald took out a pistol and pointed it at Crockett's head. So that was the end of that. That was about 1830.

Things got more and more heated as the USA shuffled toward civil war. In 1856, Senator Charles Sumner, a really staunch abolitionist, delivered a fiery speech about the situation in Kansas at the time. Kansas had petitioned to become a state, and by this time, the Mason-Dixon line had been been abandoned, so whether a state joined the union as free or slave depended on how that state's legislature voted. The election held in Kansas was a farce. Pro-slavery people came in from the slave state of Missouri to vote -- apparently over and over again. The election generated quite a few more votes than there were poeple in Kansas. And not coincidentally, a pro-slavery legislature and governor were elected. It was clearly a fraudulent election.

And the whole situation in Kansas was a bloody mess. You had "border ruffians" burning down the Republican town of Lawrence, and John Brown and his sons cutting off peoples' heads. The Jayhawkers and Redlegs were supposed to be policing things, but mostly they robbed and lynched people, like Quantrill would do a little later on. That was the general state of things.

So that was what Sumner was raling about. His speech likened slavery to a mistress that southern slaveowners were sleeping with, along with many other rather flowery and also pretty insulting references. And apparently Sumner's speech was in some way a response to a pro-slavery speech given earlier by Senator Andrew Butler from South Carolina. Senator Butler's nephew, Preston Brooks, who was then a Representative in the House, took it all very personally.

A few days after delivering the speech, Sumner was at his desk in the Senate one evening when Preston Brooks came over and starting beating him with a cane of gutta-percha with a gold handle. Gutta-percha is a very hard rubber; it's what golf balls used to be made of. But it was probably the gold handle that did the damage. Brooks beat Sumner nearly to death, claiming Sumner had insulted his uncle. Sumner was out of the Senate for many months following, and he never entirely recovered from that beating. Never changed his mind about the fraud in Kansas or about abolition, either. Brooks supposedly was cheered and celebrated all over the slave South.

Many years ago, I read this big, thick book from the local library, the autobiography of a man who'd worked in congress for about 40 years in the 1800s. Can't recall his name and can't find the book title, though I did check at Amazon and googled the topic six different ways. The author was like a secretary. When the congressmen submitted a bill or a resolution or anything that was to be "read into the record," they gave it to this guy. I believe he also took the roll. Don't know what his title would be, nor if his title then would be the same now.

It was an interesting book. The author had experienced so many famous events in congress, had known so many famous legislators -- John Quincy Adams, Davy Crockett, John C. Calhoun, Jefferson Davis, Daniel Webster. At any rate, the author noted at some point that at the time -- 1820 to 1860 or thereabouts -- "a gentleman would be a fool to enter the Congress unarmed."

So let's look at this in perspective. Joe Wilson isn't so bad. For Pete's sake, he even apologized. Many people, myself included, say a lot worse about the Comrade and have absolutely no intention of apologizing. We believe he is lying, or at the very least, making things up.

So, Pazzo, get over it.