Joe Wilson - the Blogland's Righteous Dude of the Year
Aside from the Mark Sanford mess, few moments or individuals in South Carolina politics managed to get much of the spotlight in 2009, especially in a positive manner.When the Blogland asked around about someone who did something effective in 2009, the two names that we kept hearing were "Boeing" and "Joe Wilson".
While we believe the Boeing decision will one day rank along with BMW and the creation of Santee-Cooper as one of the biggest economic tranformers of modern-day South Carolina, that potential has yet to be realized. As such, Joe Wilson is the hands-down winner of the Blogland's "Righteous Dude" recognition for 2009, for his proven ability to acheive success in super-charging his 2010 re-election bid with two words: "You Lie".
The impact of this incident upon fundraising for both Wilson and Rob Miller, his probable Democratic challenger, was quite profund as millions of dollars of donations poured into both campaigns. When the fall FEC disclosures were filed, Wilson won the fundraising race, with about 2.7 million raised to Miller's 1.7 million.
While three of the other four S.C. House members seeking re-election face tough fights - Henry Brown, Bob Inglis, and John Spratt - Wilson ends 2009 in what seems a solid position: a million dollar fundraising lead over his challenger, reports of continued strong fundraising success, his district's Republican lean boosted by a rising tide of GOP support, as well as his new role as a sought-after fundraiser for other Republicans around the country. While opinions are mixed over Wilson's outburst, the outcome of the controversy seems to have been a net gain for his profile in state politics.
For this, Joe Wilson is the Blogland's Righteous Dude of the Year for 2009.
For a comparative measure of what is considered respective legislative conduct, we'd like to show two clips. First, Joe Wilson's "You Lie" statement, and then a short bit of a recent Prime Minister's Questions session from British parliament. In comparing them, Wilson doesn't look quite as bad:
0 Response to "Joe Wilson - the Blogland's Righteous Dude of the Year"
Post a Comment
Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts!
To post a comment without having a Blogger account, select "Name/URL", put your name in, but leave the URL line blank. Email me if you'd like to comment, but need help making it work.