Democrats to condemn US lawmaker who heckled Obama

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-09-15 11:24

WASHINGTON: Democratic leaders in the US House of Representatives plan to condemn the Republican who yelled "You lie!" at President Barack Obama during a speech to Congress last week, a Democratic aide said on Monday.

The Democrats agreed to introduce a formal resolution of disapproval of the heckler, Representative Joe Wilson, on Tuesday, the aide said.

They initially said they planned to take no action against Wilson, but made an about-face after the South Carolina Republican emerged as an overnight hero among at least some conservatives.

Wilson shouted "You lie!" at Obama on Wednesday during his address to a joint session of Congress on healthcare reform.

Wilson told "Fox News Sunday" that he did not plan to apologize on the House floor as Democrats have demanded, saying that he had apologized to the president and his apology had been accepted.

Responding to reports that the Democrats were moving to condemn Wilson, House Republican Leader John Boehner said he agreed that it was time to move on and discuss healthcare as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said last week.

"That's why I plan to vote 'no' on this resolution. Instead of pursuing this type of petty partisanship, we should be working together to lower costs and expand access to affordable, high-quality health coverage on behalf of the American people," Boehner said in a statement.

Wilson, in his fifth two-year term, and his Democratic challenger in next year's election, Rob Miller, have both reported a windfall in campaign contributions since the Republican's nationally broadcast outburst.

Wilson has raised more than $1 million, Politico.com reported. Miller has raised just over $917,000, according to the Democratic fundraising website ActBlue.