Let it be known throughout the land that decorum in our nation’s capitol is dead, or at least on life support.

That’s for you, Joe Wilson. And you, Hank Johnson. And, yes, you, Jimmy Carter.

The debate (if we can even dignify it as such) over health care reform in Washington has more than reached a boiling point, and it’s bordering on lunacy.

Forget “you lie!”

Now it’s “you lie, boy” and before you know it, we’re all going to be “putting on white hoods and white uniforms again and riding through the countryside.” At least, that’s the “logical conclusion” to this uproarious uproar according to Cynthia McKinney’s (literal) heir apparent.

You can’t make this stuff up.

The latest D.C.-manufactured outrage, far from helping the Democrats promote the president’s reform agenda, has instead distracted from the matter at hand: health care reform and its many forms. Speaker Pelosi alluded to as much when she initially dismissed the notion of any formal punitive action against the renegade Republican from South Carolina, and wisely so. She caved, however, under intense pressure from liberal groups and, in particular, the Congressional Black Caucus which demanded that Rep. Wilson be censured via the passage of a formal House resolution condemning his outburst.

And thus, the cablers were alight with wall-to-wall coverage of the cat-fight, chronicling Wilson’s every move and featuring story upon story of offended lawmakers drudging up the ugly specter of racism at a time when they should have been focusing on giving ObamaCare the PR push it truly needed.

Wilson’s cry — however true — was at a minimum unbecoming and certainly inappropriate for the setting. But does anyone remember that there was a major speech given by the president last week? Does anyone recall that a “make or break,” presidency-defining, reset address was presented with great and apocalyptic fanfare to Congress a mere seven days ago? The answer is no, and that is precisely the Democrats’ problem. No one’s talking about health care reform anymore. Rather, they’re more concerned with muckraking and name-calling than attempting to revive the president’s dying reform message at a crucial point in the health care battle.

Perhaps we should attest to Joe Wilson the outstanding honor of single-handedly throwing the White House, the nutroots, and the Democrats completely off message. But in proceeding with the formal punishment, in feeding the made-for-talk-radio story, it is the Democratic Party that has breathed new life into an otherwise forgettable story…to their own detriment. Rasmussen is reporting today that public opposition to the president’s health care plan has reached an all-time high. Is there any doubt that the crash from the post-speech bounce can be attributed to the partisan ruckus concerning Wilson’s untimely remark?

Sadly, however, this appears not to be an aberration on the part of the left but the norm when it comes to denigrating and attacking ideological adversaries. The race card has, most unfortunately, become the liberals’ trump card of last resort, its pocket ace in times of political desperation. We saw it used against the Clintons in the primaries; we’re seeing it again now.

Never mind that the White House has gone adamantly on record against the phantom idea that conservative opponents of the president have racist undertones. Never mind that President Obama himself ran his campaign promising a new level of discourse on race relations in this country. No, never mind that.

Instead of effectively answering critics of health care reform, the Democrats in Congress would rather drudge up 1950s-era sentiments in an effort to promote discord and dissension than invent some logical and palatable responses to the criticisms that have thus far struck a chord with the American public-at-large.

It’s a sad day in America when we can’t have true, two-sided debate (as far as the health care “debate” is concerned, Republican solutions haven’t gotten the time of day from Pelosi, Reid, Obama, or the media) without resorting to childish mudslinging and rhetorical absurdities. .