Roskam surprised by colleague's outburst at Obama
Peter Roskam cringed when the Republican colleague sitting beside him suddenly shouted, "You lie," during President Obama's health care address to Congress.
South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson's outburst was the talk of national media circles Thursday. Roskam is clearly seen in media pictures sitting next to Wilson during the speech.
"I was thoroughly disappointed to hear a member of Congress interrupt the president in that fashion. Congressman Wilson shouldn't have treated the president of the United States that way. It's my understanding he called the White House to apologize and they accepted his apology. Hopefully, we can now move on from this and get back to debating the major issue of reforming health care," Roskam said in an e-mail response to the Daily Herald.
Roskam knows a thing or two about heated discussions with Obama on this topic. They squared off routinely during their joint tenure in Springfield as evidenced by a 2004 debate that sounds a lot like the current one.
Obama was pushing legislation that recommended the state adopt a sweeping new health care plan that, among other things, would ensure coverage for all Illinois residents. The legislation did not contain an actual health care plan, rather it created a study of such a plan and was designed as a show of support for such a plan.
Roskam was one of the leading critics, calling it a thinly veiled setup for socialized medicine in Illinois. He and Obama engaged in a testy debate, with Obama accusing Roskam and Republicans of "mischaracterizing" the issue for political gain.
"If you want to vote 'no' on this bill, vote 'no' on it, but don't lie about it," Obama told Roskam during the 2004 debate in Springfield.
Roskam argued Obama's idea of bipartisan negotiations was GOP members doing what the majority Democrats wanted and would end up doing anyway.
"I know the sponsor (Obama) has worked hard to try to come up with a good idea, and he's a little bit chagrined that some people don't like his idea," Roskam said in the 2004 debate. "That's because they think it's a bad idea."
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