Wisconsin's own Democratic U.S Rep. Dave Obey can now be found on Youtube.com, as he angrily expresses frustration with the war in Iraq to a former soldier's mother in the hallway outside Congressional offices in Washington D.C.
After a confrontation last Monday between Obey and Tina Richards, the mother of a former soldier, Obey issued a formal apology for the outburst.
In the video, Richards questions Obey's legislation concerning the war in Iraq. Obey's bill would redeploy U.S. troops from Iraq after August 2008 if Iraqi leaders fail to meet a military timetable and guidelines.
Richards told Obey her son attempted suicide after serving two tours in Iraq. She went on to ask Obey if he had read a poem written by her son. Richards also told Obey that the Department of Veteran Affairs did little to help with her son's coping in Iraq. At an appointment, he was told he had ""childhood issues.""
When Richards asked Obey about his stance on the war, Obey took the defensive.
""Do you see a magic wand in my pocket?"" he replied when pressed about the end of the war.
Obey denounced ""idiot liberals,"" for not correctly understanding his legislation and a practical timetable for withdrawing troops.
""If that isn't good enough for you, you're smoking something illegal,"" he told Richards and others in the hallway.
Throughout the video Obey is visibly upset and frustrated and spoke loudly, frequently using the word hell.
Obey issued an apology Friday on the incident.
""I am sorry that I yelled at them. I respect their passion on the issue; I wish they would respect mine,"" Obey said in a statement. ""We are both frustrated, and that led us to have an argument that we never should have had because we both want to see an end to U.S. involvement in that war. What divided us was the question of how.""
Obey also emphasized the importance of his legislation and said it would ""give the House its first opportunity in the four years of this misguided war to vote on a timeline for bringing it to a close.""
According to Obey, President Bush would veto his proposed legislation and this might ""convince ... folks to reconsider their opposition to it.""
Obey's ""foul mouth"" drew criticism from Mark Jefferson, executive director of the Republican Party of Wisconsin.
""Dirty Mouth Dave has a reputation for dishing out abuse and negative attacks, but he never could handle criticism ... the entire nation got to see what Wisconsinites have known all along,"" Jefferson said in statement. ""Obey needs to get a grip and start acting like a Congressman now that he's 37 years into it.""
Though Jefferson said Democrats ""offer no solutions in Iraq, opting instead to yell and swear at those who disagree,"" Obey vows to press forward his legislation to end the war.
