It took just one week for a major power player in the Democratic caucus to agree with Representative Joe Wilson ( R-SC) . According to The Hill:
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) is putting Democrats in a bind by seeking to let illegal immigrants benefit from the healthcare overhaul.
Menendez, the only Hispanic senator, has considerable leverage with Democrats because he may represent the deciding vote on the Senate Finance Committee set to mark up the legislation next week. He’s also the party’s campaign committee chairman, giving him added influence.
Menendez said he is withholding his support for the bill until his concerns about immigration and other matters are addressed.
His objections come one week after President Barack Obama staunchly disputed GOP accusations that the healthcare proposal would aid illegal immigrants – prompting the now-famous “You lie!” outburst from Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.).
The absurdity and irony of the Democrat reaction to Wilson’s outburst has not been lost on the electorate. The party of Harry Reid and Pete Stark simply can’t put on the cloak of decorum and then declare angry Republicans out of order. Voters know this. But the irony of the Wilson affair is that his outburst had the effect of not only filling the Republican’s campaign coffers but also outing a prominent liberal Democrat like Menendez, who apparently agrees with the Son of the Confederacy from South Carolina. Does that make Menendez a racist?