Joe Wilson (R-S.C.)

Early Political Career

Wilson remained active in South Carolina politics and civic groups throughout the 1970s. He managed the re-election campaigns for Spence, and he worked as a staffer for Sen. Thurmond. Wilson lost his first race for elected office in 1976, failing in a close bid to unseat an incumbent Democratic state senator. He joined the Reagan administration in 1981, serving as a deputy counsel for the Energy Department.

Wilson faced another tight election in his second try for the state Senate in 1984, but this time he won, edging out Democrat Norma Russell. Though he rose to head the Transportation Committee in the legislature he also gained experience in foreign affairs during the 1980s and 1990s. Wilson worked frequently with former communist nations moving toward democracy. In 1990, the Republican National Committee chief Lee Atwater appointed Wilson to a U.S. delegation observing the first democratic elections in Bulgaria.

Run for U.S. House

When Spence died in 2001, Wilson was seen as the natural heir apparent to his longtime boss and political mentor. A special election was held in December, and though Wilson quickly emerged as the favorite, he stumbled early. He drew criticism for launching his campaign just a day after Spence was buried - a move opponents called insensitive, and he faced ridicule for asserting publicly that Spence had endorsed him on his deathbed. Still, Wilson easily captured both the Republican nomination and the House seat, winning both elections with more than 70% of the vote.

Partisan Skirmishes

Once in the House, Wilson soon gained a reputation as both a hard-working legislator and as a lawmaker who relished political combat. In South Carolina, he clashed with longtime Democratic Rep. James Clyburn, who represented a nearby district, and with then-Sen. Fritz Hollings (D). Wilson lashed out at Hollings over what he said were "malicious" attacks by the senator on Israel. Facing criticism, Wilson said he was defending the state's honor, but many viewed him as trying to heighten his profile for a statewide campaign.

In 2002, Wilson caused a stir when during a C-Span debate on Iraq, he loudly accused Rep. Bob Filner (D-Calif.) of being "viscerally anti-American." He later said he stood by the comments but did not mean to impugn Filner's patriotism. And in 2004, Wilson took to the House floor to demand that Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.) apologize for comments he had made more than three decades earlier about the conduct of American troops in Vietnam.

'You Lie'

Wilson's congressional profile catapulted from that of a little-known Republican backbencher to national political lightning rod in a matter of seconds on the evening of Sept. 9, 2009. President Obama was delivering an address on health care to a joint session of Congress and came to a section of the speech aimed at rebutting mischaracterizations of his reform plans. After the president said, "The reforms I'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally," Wilson shouted, "You lie!" The outburst stunned the House chamber. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), seated behind Obama, glared in Wilson's direction. The president turned, and after a pause, said "That's not true," before continuing with his speech.

After the address, Wilson's remark dominated much of the coverage. His behavior was denounced by Democrats and Republicans alike. Even Wilson's wife Roxanne said she was shocked, recalling that she called her husband after the speech to ask who was "the nut" who yelled at the president. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel told reporters, "No president has ever been treated like that. Ever." Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Wilson's shout was "totally disrespectful" and called on the congressman to apologize immediately. Wilson did just that, releasing a statement to the press and disclosing that he had called the White House and conveyed an apology through Emanuel. Obama told reporters the next day that he accepted Wilson's apology.

But in the days that followed Obama's speech, the reaction to Wilson's outburst - at first unified in disapproval - began to cleave along partisan lines. Democratic activists and donors poured more than $1 million in contributions to Wilson's Democratic opponent in South Carolina, Rob Miller. Wilson in turn sent out his own fundraising appeal on the grounds that he was being targeted. Some conservative activists and talk-show hosts rose to his defense.

Though the White House signaled it wanted to move beyond the incident, Democratic House leaders, led by party whip and longtime foe Clyburn, demanded that Wilson apologize to his colleagues on the House floor. Wilson refused. "I have apologized to the president. I believe that is sufficient," he said in a Fox News interview. House Democrats pressed forward with a resolution expressing the chamber's "disapproval" with Wilson's behavior - the first official rebuke of a House member for interrupting a presidential speech to Congress. The measure passed by a largely party line vote of 240 to 179, with five members voting "present."

Although Democrats also criticized the substance of Wilson's outburst as inaccurate, party leaders in the days following moved to strengthen provisions in health-care reform legislation barring the participation of illegal immigrants. The proposal circulated by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) included citizenship verification requirements absent from House versions of the bill.

Show less