Bully Pulpit and Bullies...

Theodore Roosevelt called the office of the President a "bully pulpit". When he coined the phrase, the use of bully as an adjective (rather than a noun) meant "superb" or "wonderful", which has become archaic.

What he meant was that the office of the President of the United States meant that people would listen to what he had to say, regardless of what he did have to say.


Unfortunately, the Democratic Majority in the House of Representatives is behaving like they have the bully pulpit, but this time using the noun meaning of the word.

Joe Wilson, Republican Representative from South Carolina, let the President know what he thought of President Obama's speech to the joint session recently, bluntly calling out "You Lie!". He has apologized, the President accepted the apology.

Normally, amongst adults, that would be the end of it.


Instead, we see this. The Democrats see this rebuke - the first ever of its kind in the history of the Congress - this way:

The resolution is not about the substance of an issue but about the conduct we expect of one another in the course of doing our business.

Oh really. Where then were the resolutions when President Bush was called, by Senator Harry Ried, a liar? When President Bush was publicly booed by Democrats in his Address To State of The Nation speech ( in 2005: video here), where were these resolutions? Where was the apology for failing to conduct themselves in the manner that they "expect of one another"?

Silence.

Why did the House take this move?

Well, the Democrats in the House want Joe Wilson to come on to the floor and apologize to them. They want to put him in his place, publicly humiliate him and make sure that no one ever, ever dares to do something like this again.

In other words, they are bullying him. In this case, the House resolution is aimed at coercing Joe Wilson to act in a way that he normally would refuse to do. This is the form of bullying known as relational or social aggression. The Resolution was designed to humiliate Joe Wilson publicly.


Typical Chicago politics tactics, these...wonderful how the Democratic Party, purported Champion of the Working Man and Defender of Minorities, preaching tolerance, is extraordinarily intolerant and more than happy to use their power to bully minorities around...