Rep. Joe Wilson Apologizes For "You Lie" Outburst; Opponent Immediately Raises Megabucks

Jillian Bandes | September 10, 2009 10:19 AM

Shortly after he yelled "You lie!" at the President during his evening remarks, Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) issued the following statement.

This evening I let my emotions get the best of me when listening to the President’s remarks regarding the coverage of illegal immigrants in the health care bill. While I disagree with the President’s statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable. I extend sincere apologies to the President for this lack of civility.

The Statement wasn't enough. Wilson was roundly condemned by his fellow lawmakers, his personal House web site had crashed by Monday morning due to a flood of attention, and most importantly, ActBlue, a liberal organization, claimed it has raised $96,000 for Rob Miller, a Democrat who is running against Wilson in the mid-term elections. From their site:

Rob Miller is running against Republican Joe Wilson. Who's that? He's the guy who yelled "you lie" at Obama on international TV.

Some fans tried to offer their support. A Facebook group titled "Barack IS a liar! Rock On Rep. Joe Wilson!" accumulated 85 members by Thursday morning.