Lindsay Graham, Constitutional Amendments And Xenophobia

There is nothing new about Republicans stoking xenophobic fears among their party's faithful, but it seems the G.O.P. is constantly looking for more preposterous solutions to a complex problem that they clearly do not wish to grasp. Utilizing right-wing zealot and ex-Congressman J.D. Hayworth is one thing, but for Lindsay Graham to step into the stupid shows how far they are willing to go to rile up fearful Caucasians that see immigration as a threat (you know, just as every other group in American history has).

From Politico:

“I may introduce a constitutional amendment that changes the rules if you have a child here,” Graham said during an interview with Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren. “Birthright citizenship I think is a mistake ... We should change our Constitution and say if you come here illegally and you have a child, that child's automatically not a citizen.”

Asked how intent Graham is on introducing the amendment, the South Carolina Republican responded: “I got to.”

“People come here to have babies,” he said. “They come here to drop a child. It's called "drop and leave." To have a child in America, they cross the border, they go to the emergency room, have a child, and that child's automatically an American citizen. That shouldn't be the case. That attracts people here for all the wrong reasons.”

First off, the "drop and leave" scenario is more of a scarecrow argument than anything. The vast majority of undocumented workers that come to the U.S. and have children want to stay in the country and make a better life for themselves, just as immigrants have for more than 200 years.

If something like this passed, it would only end up hurting the children in these cases and hardly stem the fears of those that ascribe to the bigotry that Lindsay Graham and his G.O.P. brethren hawk.

Thankfully though, passing a Constitutional Amendment and nullifying a portion of the 14th Amendment is highly unlikely. Graham's a smart guy, he knows this, but for his conscious decision to play this card speaks more to the content of his personal character than to his intellect.

Lindsay Graham Peddles Gitmo Lies To Greta

Simply appearing on Fox News does not give someone the authority to blatantly lie (even though it happens all the time there) about the status of detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Yet Senator Lindsay Graham did just that when he spoke to Greta Van Susteren earlier today:



Graham may be trying to look tough for his constituents and fellow Republican kool-aid drinkers, but the status of the detainees is not as clear cut as he might hope for.

Sen. Graham Wouldn't Know Bipartisanship If It Was Staring At Him In The Face

With two days to go until President Barack Obama goes to Denver to sign the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law, we have one last Sunday talk cycle to get the frustrations of Republicans out so that we can all hear it for the umpteenth time. Democrats have already described McCain as an angry, old defeated candidate, but we need to add Senator Lindsay Graham in there too.

From RawStory:

At this point, Graham chimed in to say, "If this is going to be bipartisanship, the country's screwed. ... I know bipartisanship when I see it. ... There's nothing about this process that's been bipartisan. This is not change we can believe in."

"You rammed it through the House," Graham told the Democrats on the panel. "The markup, Chuck, in the Senate took an hour and forty minutes."

"We had every Republican vote for a $440 billion stimulus package," Graham continued, "that cut taxes, had infrastructure spending, and helped people who were out of work

Graham was apparently referring to Sen. John Thune's proposal, which was voted down 37-60. That proposal would have cut tax rates in a way that gave the most relief to affluent Americans and none to the working poor, made unemployment benefits tax-free, used tax credits to encourage renewed home-buying, and forbidden future tax increases to pay for current deficit spending. It would also have included a mere $65 billion in state grants to build and repair bridges and roads.

See, Senator Graham has it all wrong. The bipartisanship shown during Republican rule was where some Democrats would complain that the GOP gave everything to the rich and stole from the poor, then the GOP would ignore said Democrats and pass whatever the hell they wanted. Now that the Republicans have been beaten into a small regional party with limited influence, they're complaining about not getting things the way that they're used to. Proposing a counter-bill that had half the money and nearly all of that going to the very rich was laughable to say the least.

The American people demanded change this past November. Until Republicans like Graham actually want to sit down and come up with ideas other than their failed tax cuts, they have no claim to use the word "bipartisanship." At the very least, Senator Graham should consult a dictionary (and his constituents who are flailing in this wretched economy) before going on his next Sunday talk show.

Kool-Aid Seen Oozing From Senator Graham's Pores

Today is the last round of segments from the Sunday talk shows before election day. Both sides are working hard to promote their candidate, but Senator Lindsay Graham goes above and beyond the call of duty for McCain. Graham is clearly living in a land of delusion where the Kool-Aid flows like cheap beer at a keg party. On CBS this morning, you can see the red sugary stuff seeping out of him in every way possible.

From Crooks and Liars:

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Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C. and John McCain's bosom buddy, today on CBS with Bob Schieffer:

What we've seen in the last two weeks is a very much tightening of the race in the states that matter. I really believe that Senator Obama is the virtual incumbent. And if he's not at 50 percent today in North Carolina, he's not going to win.

We see closing in Nevada, New Mexico and Colorado, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. We have him under 50 and in the margin of error. The intensity level in the last couple of weeks has been unbelievable on our side. Senator Obama is being defined for the most liberal senator in the Senate. That's his voting record. Joe the Plumber kind of put Obama policies on a real face. ...

I said in Fayetteville that I would beat Michael Phelps in swimming before Barack Obama wins North Carolina. And I can't swim.

I'm standing by that. I know North Carolina. John McCain will win North Carolina.

Virtual incumbent? How does he come up with stuff like this?

Perhaps him and Tucker Bounds have been sitting at the same bar together long enough to start hallucinating. Graham may be telling the truth with his swimming skills, but I've really got to hand it to him for his acting, which is far superior than Michael Phelps. As for incumbency, the only connection to the current Pretzeldent is had by John McCain, the man that has voted with Bush more than ninety percent of the time.

McCain Stays Mum On His Buddies Earmarks

The most integral part of the McCain campaign's grasp on the mantle of reform is to talk about earmarks. The Senator may not have requested any directly, but his running mate flat out lies about her's despite everyone yelling at the top of their lungs that the claim is false. Palin's Bridge to Nowhere and the State of Alaska in general takes in the most per capita earmark dollars in the nation. So if McCain lies about Sarah, then what would he do about his best friends Joe Lieberman and Lindsay Graham's share of the pork?

From ThinkProgress:

The budget watchdog Taxpayers for Common Sense has released an analysis of earmark requests in the 2009 Defense Authorization bill, finding 435 earmarks worth $5.2 billion. Neither Barack Obama nor John McCain asked for any earmarks. Joe Biden had an $11.6 million earmark. The Washington Times reports that McCain supporters Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) requested milllions:

Lieberman requested $35 million for “Technology development for F135 engine” for beneficiary Pratt and Whitney. Graham has $20 million in solo requests, including a $9.9 million earmark for a “Physical Fitness Center” at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina.

“Would McCain veto those if he were president?” the Times asks. Reporter Christina Bellantoni called the McCain campaign to see if he would veto the earmarks. “Update, 5:45 p.m.: Silence from Team McCain,” she writes.

The defense industry loves Lieberman and Graham and I seriously doubt that McCain would try to throw cold water on those relationships. He was silent on the issue yesterday, so expect more of the same from McCain today. As long as truth gets in the way of McCain's message, he'll just continue to try and sweep the evidence of his hypocrisy under the rug.

Sen. Graham Makes The Case For Bush's 3rd Term

John McCain tried to distance himself from being labeled as "Bush's third term" in his speech last week, but apparently his buddy Senator Lindsay Graham of South Carolina didn't get the message that real policy goals of the Republican nominee are supposed to be kept hush-hush until after November:

John McCain And Vets For Freedom, Can I Get A Hug

So far in this race, nothing has been more visually damaging for John McCain than the picture of him hugging burying his face in George Bush's chest. Of course there is nothing illegal about that, but the connection to Vets for Freedom just might be.

McCain And His Supporters Show Their Campaign Finance "Ethics"

Just because John McCain wrote the laws doesn't mean he thinks he has to follow them. Campaigns and 527s are not supposed to mix, but Dick Durbin and videotape of Sens. Graham, Lieberman and McCain point out otherwise about the Republican nominee's behavior...and his standards:

Reason Versus Madness On Iran

When will the media stop feeding into right wing hype on Iran?

Webb and Graham Get Testy On Press The Meat

Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) schools Sen. Graham (R-SC) about the situation in Iraq and how the troops are dealing with endless war.

Barbara Boxer Puts Lindsay Graham In His Place

Republicans like Senator Graham waste no time telling outright lies to make Democrats look bad if they think it can help them with their degrading image in front of the American people. Graham tried to tell a whopper about Harry Reid this morning on CNN's Late Edition.

From Crooks and Liars:

BOXER: I don't know anyone who opposes this war that ever said our troops are losers. Our troopers are winners.

GRAHAM: Harry Reid did.

BOXER: Excuse me. He never said our troops are losers. Now, Lindsey, just be careful what you say. The bottom line here is, the losers are the ones who have, you know, engineered this war, made a huge mistake, Dick Cheney, we're in the last throes, the war will last six months, and all of you who have supported this escalation and have turned us away from fighting al Qaida into putting us in the middle of a civil war.

Boxer: "The loser is the Commander in Chief who has not lead our country well."

Thank god for Democrats like Barbara Boxer. Republicans can say just about anything that is false and misleading, so we need people that live in reality to set them straight. The losers are indeed Bush and his miscreants in Congress. The American people get that, now it is time for the small segment of the population that live in Washington to give up their miscreant ways and represent the people instead of the White House that is charging off the cliff.