"So it was no great surprise that Joe Wilson’s rebel yell was provoked by the first black president’s declaration that his health plans didn’t include government health care for illegal immigrants. It was an echo of the summer’s rowdy town halls all over America, for sure. But it was also an echo of those South Carolina statesmen, from John C. Calhoun to Strom Thurmond, who have forever specialized in one shouted word: “No!"
