First, the GOP had Joe the Plumber, now it has Joe the Heckler.
Representative Joe Wilson, a Republican from South Carolina, managed to scandalize Congress when he called out, "You lie!", during President Obama's speech on health care to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday night.
President Obama was stating that health care reform legislation would not cover illegal immigrants, when Wilson unleashed his outcry of disbelief. Immediately, Democrats unleashed a chorus of boos.
As of Thursday morning, Wilson's website was down. But other than a loudmouth, who is Joe Wilson?
• Wilson is a 5th term Republican from South Carolina’s 2nd District. He was a member of the South Carolina Senate from 1985-2001, according his biography on Congress.org.
• Wilson has voted along with his party 95.3% of the time he has cast a vote during the current Congress, according to the Washington Post.
• All four of Wilson’s sons serve in the armed forces. He is married to Roxanne Dusenbury MrCrory.
• Wilson's public service career began when he worked on the staffs of Senator Strom Thurmond and Congressman Floyd Spence, says GOP.gov.
• He graduated with a Bachelors degree from Washington and Lee University in 1969 and received his law degree from the University of South Carolina in 1972.
• He is a member of the Armed Services, Education and Labor, and Foreign Affairs committees.
• His Armed Services subcommittees are: Air and Land Forces, and Military Personnel.
• His Foreign Affairs subcommittees are: Europe, and The Middle East and South Asia.
• His Education and Labor subcommittees are: Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions, and Workforce Protections.
• Wilson served in both the United States Army Reserves and the South Carolina Army National Guard, according to his Congressional biography. He retired as a colonel in 2003, and before then was the only active Guard member serving in Congress.
VOTING RECORD
The web site Ontheissues.org lists Joe Wilson's stances and voting records in several categories:
• His voting record is rated as "anti public health" by the interest group American Public Health Association.
• Wilson voted against putting mental health on par with physical health, against requiring Medicare to negotiate for drug prices, and for limiting drug prescription benefits for Medicare recipients.
• He also voted to "limit anti-trust lawsuits on health plans and insurers" in March 2008.
• In July 2006 Wilson voted to constitutionally define marriage as between one man and one woman.
• In December 2005 Wilson voted to make the PATRIOT Act permanent.
• In September 2004 he voted for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
• Wilson has a pro-business voting record according to the business federation US Chamber of Commerce. He also has a history of voting for increased oil drilling and against tax incentives for energy production and conservation.
• He also has a highly pro-military voting record according to the grassroots group Peace Action.
• In regards to homeland security he has consistently voted against requiring warrants for wiretapping in the United States and abroad.