Lindsey Graham's "Outreach"

Check out this headline:

Sen. Graham reaches out to Tea Party

Really? No, really? Is this the same Sen. Graham who said:

“The problem with the Tea Party, I think it’s just unsustainable because they can never come up with a coherent vision for governing the country. It will die out.”

and:

“Everything I'm doing now in terms of talking about climate, talking about immigration, talking about Gitmo is completely opposite of where the Tea Party movement's at ”

Why is Graham “reaching out” to a group that he believes will die out and who, by his own admission, he shares none of the values of? I answered that question in my previous post:

How long are we going to stomach the Snowes, Collins and Grahams in our midst simply because the stick an (R) at the end of the names? These people are politicians for pity sake. They aren't going to change unless the one thing they actually care about, their re-election, is threatened.

Graham is looking around and suddenly he has noticed the demise of long term RINOs like himself who failed to take the electorate seriously. What do you think Graham cares more about (a)being re-elected or (b)amnesty for illegals?; (a) being re-elected or (b) Cap and Trade?; (a) being re-elected or (b) Gitmo? If you picked (a) all three times give yourself a gold star.

Graham doesn’t face re-election until 2014. We will see, by his voting record, between now and then whether he takes the Tea Party seriously or whether he is just shining them on. My guess is that he will put his re-election chances ahead of any ideology he might have. No way he wants to be the next Murkowski.

Graham Goes Cheap

Republican Senator: Jesus’s ‘Golden Rule’ Inspired His Vote For Pro-Abortion Kagan

(CNSNews.com) - Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said that Jesus’s Golden Rule inspired him to vote to confirm Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court and suggested it would be a good thing for his Senate colleagues to also ponder Jesus’s words as they prepared to vote on Kagan.

“It is divine in its orientation, and it is probably something that would serve us all well if we thought about it at moments such as this,” Sen. Graham said on the Senate floor, as he pointed his colleagues to the Golden Rule and counseled them to look to the wisdom of “somebody far wiser than I am” as they cast their votes on Kagan.

The Golden Rule is a commandment to treat others with respect and honesty.  It is not a commandment to set aside one's principals or beliefs.  For Graham to use the Golden Rule as cover for his despicable vote is beyond slimy.

Christianity isn't something to be trotted out as a shield for one's behavior.  In invoking our Lord's words in such  a manner, Graham, cheapened the words and himself.  It was not the act of an honorable man.

What was Graham's purpose for using the Golden Rule is this manner?  He knew his vote would be unpopular so he thought that by using the words of Jesus as an explanation that he would soften the anger.  If that isn't the very definition of cowardly, I don't know what is.

Time to Sober Up

Smitty has a great post at The Other McCain regarding Rep. Paul Ryan and his Roadmap.  According to a recent Gallup poll, six out ten Americans state that they don't expect to see one penny from Social Security.  We know that entitlements are swallowing up our federal budget yet, with the exception of Ryan, none of our leaders is offering a plan to save this country from total fiscal meltdown. 

Both parties got us in this mess.  From where I stand it appears that there is only a half-hearted effort on the part of the Republican party and no effort on the part of Democrats to clean up decades of unsustainable government growth.  The answer is the ballot box. 

We should make some good gains this November but if those of us who believe in a return to the Constitution and smaller government rest on our laurels we might as well not pick up a single seat.  We can not afford to put Charlie Crist in to the United States Senate this November.  We simply cannot afford to return BIG GOVERNMENT Loving, Tea Party dismissing Lindsey Graham to Senate when his current term blessedly expires.  We cannot afford to blindly vote for every slick talking RINO that come down the path.

We do indeed have a roadmap out of this mess but it will do us no good unless we have the guts to insist that our elected officials follow it.  We have been spending like drunk sailors and like all drunks, we all have one hellava hang over.  Sobering up won't be easy but we have to take that first painful step now. 

Deathbed Converts

Ace and Bill Sher face off in The Hill's pundits blog to debate whether the Tea Party is a flash in the pan or a long term movement.  Sher's position boils down to SOS-the Tea Party consists of a bunch of racists fueled by hatred of black president.  The position is more wishful thinking (how sad is that?) than reality and not worth much consideration.  On the other hand, Ace spoke directly to why I became involved in the Tea Party movement.  Ace:

For the Tea Party, spending discipline is not merely an economic issue but a moral one, inasmuch as we leave our children a legacy not of hard-earned bounty but rather of irresponsible debt. And, too, it is a moral idea much similar to cleanliness is next to Godliness -- our inability to propose a plausible budget and live within our actual means is an indulgence demonstrating a fundamental unseriousness about our civic duties as Americans. Year after year our Congress leaves its budgetary business half-completed at best with a note to future generations: "You figure the rest of this out, and you pay the price of our inability to do our jobs.”

It’s that moral dimension that gives the Tea Party passion. This isn’t just numbers. It’s not about money. (Although, as is always the case, anytime something is said to be not about money, of course, it’s largely about money.) But it’s about our duty as Americans to do as each generation of Americans has done before us – to do our duty, well and without complaint, and leave the country more prosperous than we found it.

My own conversion from a "card carrying Republican" to a Conservative and Tea Party activist could be likened to a deathbed conversion.  I consistently voted for the Republican candidates because the Republican Party was the party of life and national defense.  I may have grumbled, privately, when my party backed policies that were fiscally irresponsible but I sucked up any misgivings because I believed that even the worst Republican was better than any Democrat.  Then, at lightning speed, while I meandered through my comfortable little life, my country plunged deep in to debt and as a matter of policy just kept spending.  Hallelujah, I saw the light!
 
This country can not continue on its current spending spree and I suddenly realized that if I continued to vote for every (R) on the ballot without holding them accountable for the decisions that they make on my behalf then the moral is failing is mine.  It is my grandchildren who will live in a diminished society if I am too lazy to stand up.  
 
I am now taking responsibility for my citizenship and the Tea Party is my mentor.  It is the Tea Party that I look to for support.  Because of the Tea Party I am not alone and I have a voice.  
 
Sen. Lindsey Graham believes that we will die out.  No, he hopes against hope that we will die out.  He is one of those (R)'s that took our vote for granted but he can't do that anymore and he is fighting back.  He is fighting for the status quo.  He can be dismissive all day long but would he have pulled out of Cap & Trade were it not for the Tea Party?  Graham has a long history of supporting amnesty, but he is pretty darn quiet about it now.  Sen. Graham wants the Tea Party to go away and let him get back to business as usual. 
 
We are not going anywhere.  We have seen what happens when the political class is allowed to function unchecked. 
 

Words I Never Thought I Would Say-UPDATED

Thank you, Sen. Lindsey Graham.  Doug Ross:

I've given Lindsey Graham plenty of grief over the years, but he deserves our praise today if Ben Geman's report is accurate.

Monday climate bill rollout scuttled as Graham decides to walk away

Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) decision to walk away from Senate talks on climate change and energy legislation – at least for now – has prompted the measure's remaining architects to scuttle Monday’s planned unveiling of the bill.

It seems that Graham is upset with the push for immigration reform.  Graham believes that the Administration is trying to rush immigration legislation for political purposes.  You think?  This country is in serious need of real immigration reform, not just another amnesty program.  The Dems are trying to curry favor among Hispanic voters and as such, have no incentive to write the kind of tough legislation this country needs.

Read Doug's post.

UPDATE:

Stacy McCain:

Liberals though they could count on Graham because he has backstabbed conservatives so often. They’ve now discovered to their chagrin that he’s a bipartisan backstabber.

Instead of Either/Or, How About Neither?

Sen. Lindsey Graham:

“What am I supposed to do, write an immigration bill between now and Monday with Chuck?” Graham said.

Forgive me, but I thought "staffers" wrote legislation and Congressmen found out what had been written once the bill had been voted on.

Graham is lamenting that bringing his immigration bill to the floor too quickly could screw up his Global Warming bill.  Truth is, both bills are already screwed up.  Instead of whining that he wants to cram this or that bill down the throats of an already gagging public,  Graham should take a novel approach and bow to the will of the people-i.e., can both bills.

Cap and Trade puts a heavy burden on already struggling families in the form of both tax increases and increased energy costs.  Americans are not in the mood right now for extreme and unwise measures, particularly when they are predicated upon discredited science.  "Immigration Reform" simply rewards illegals, grants amnesty, increases the number of people who must compete for decreased employment opportunities, and adds to the ObamaCare and entitlement rolls while padding the Democrat's base.   Why is Graham pushing either one?

Graham wants to play on both sides of the net.  That is certainly his choice, but he shouldn't be surprised if voters tell him to take his shuttlecock and shove it.

I Am Not Having Sex With Sen. Lindsey Graham

and therefore, I could not care less who he is having sex with.  Graham's policy positions interest me, his sexual positions do not.  I've never had anything nice to say about Lindsey Graham and I see no reason to start now, but with all the legitimate reasons there are to crack on Graham there is no excuse for stooping to personal attacks.  Conservatives are looking good in 2010.  Let's keep focused on what is important.

With Friends Like Sen. Lindsey Graham, Who Needs Democrats?

“Birds of a feather flock together.” “You can judge a man by the company he keeps.”

How about this, “One of my favorite senators is Lindsey Graham.” That came out today on Fox during the debate between Charlie Crist and Marco Rubio. That tells me all I need to know about what kind of senator Charlie Crist would make and strengthens my resolve to see to it that Marco Rubio is the next United Senator from the state of Florida.

Sen. Lindsey Graham seems to be doing everything in his power to piss off Republicans. Consider this:

Graham: Obama done 'almost nothing' on immigration

The lonely leader for immigration reform legislation among Senate Republicans, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, is chafing at what he views as the White House's unwillingness to put political muscle behind the effort.

"The president promised to pass an immigration reform bill in his first year. They’ve done almost nothing in the White House on immigration," Graham said Sunday on NBC's "Meet The Press."

While the White House has been urging Graham and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to craft legislation and bring it to President Barack Obama, a frustrated Graham seemed to want to flip that process around.

"I urge the president to write a bill and see if he can get another Republican, see if he can convince the 16 Democrats who voted no last time," Graham said bitterly. "Let him do some heavy lifting here on immigration....Write a bill and send it to me. I'll be glad to look at it."

Among Senate Republicans, Graham has been essentially alone in working with the White House on immigration and climate change issues. But he ridiculed suggestions that he would be the key vote to win passage of major legislation on those fronts.

A central point to Graham’s immigration reform is amnesty. He would allow illegals to pay a fine, no doubt paid for with money earned illegally and at the expense of American workers, and then he would welcome them with open arms. Graham belongs to the “illegals do jobs that American’s don’t want to do” club. The real story is that American employers would rather pay illegals under the table, thus avoiding the regulation and taxes that is inherent in the hiring of Americans. It works like this:

The general contractor for ABC Builders hires a subcontractor who supplies the manpower to build your home. He pays the subcontractor in a single check, payable to the subcontractor, who then takes it to Amscot or some such similar place and cashes it. From the cash the subcontractor keeps his cut and then passes out the rest in cash to the workers. The workers are often paid right at or less than minimum wage, and there is no withholding for any of the taxes the rest of us pay. The contractor isn’t breaking the law because he didn't hire the illegals, the subcontractor did.

Look at any home being built in Florida and you will notice that the majority of the workers are immigrants and rarely, if ever, speak English. It wasn’t always like that. A man could earn a good living in construction but no builder is going to pay a starting wage of $15 to $18 an hour (plus, plus, plus) when he can get away with $7 an hour and not have to worry about paying his part of social security, Medicare, unemployment, etc.

If illegals are allowed to enter and work in the country legally, their wages will eventually near those of other Americans doing the same job.  In the meantime, American workers are sitting on the bench and wages as a whole are being suppressed.  But, allowing immigrants to enter the country should be based on filling a need in the host country. We don’t have a need to import construction workers. Further, I wouldn’t be surprised if the same couldn't be said of other industries if the employers would simply pay a decent wage.

But Graham isn’t thinking of the millions of Americans who have lost their jobs to illegal immigrants. They are not his concern. Somebody should let Sen. Graham know that American workers are our concern. If he wants to act contrary to the interests of American workers he should do it from the Democrat side of the aisle. And he can take his Cap & Trade with him.

But back to Crist. Graham’s policies are bad for America and bad for Florida. If Graham is an example of the kind of senator Crist aspires to be we all need to work to see to it that Charlie Crist never sees the Senate floor.

I'm Contemplating Committing a Violent Act

No, not against Pelosi & Co., they're not worth my effort.  In the last few weeks the Republicans in the House have made me proud to be a Republican again.  Because of their actions I am re-energized, re-focused and ready to fight.  Then I see this at RedState:

Senate GOP Trying To Scuttle “Repeal It” Amendment

Senate sources confirm to me this evening that Senator Mitch McConnell and his leadership team are trying to scuttle Republican efforts to force a vote on repeal of the entire health care legislation during the reconciliation process. I’m told reliably that moderate Republican senators who voted against Obamacare in December do not want to vote against it again because it would just be “symbolic”. McConnell agrees and is not inclined to push Republicans to go along with any effort to force a vote on repeal during reconciliation, despite David Vitter offering up an amendment to do just that and separate stand alone legislation being offered by Senator Jim DeMint with a host of Republican co-sponsors.

It makes me want to walk up to McConnell and palm-smack him right in the forehead.  And don't even get me started on Chuckles Grassley.  What planet have these dolts been parked on lately?  On top of everything else, Sen. Lindsay Graham is still working on a wildly unpopular immigration bill that could make millions of illegals eligible for ObamaCare.  Perhaps our senators could benefit from reading Dan Riehl:

Wow! According to CBS, 41% of Democrats, 66% of Independents and 89% of Republicans want the GOP to continue to contest the health care bill. I guess in Axelrod's view, that means the public likes the GOP opposition so much, they just can't stand to see it end. heh!

Well, duh!  We keep hearing that people  are afraid that the Tea Party will splinter the Republican party vote.  There wouldn't even be a Tea Party movement if Republicans like McConnell, Grassley and Graham would pull their heads out of their tailpipes and listen to the American people.

This country isn't in the mess it is in because of the Democrats.  It is because of the spineless, rudderless Democrat Lites in the republican party.  Grow a set, boys.

More at:

Potluck
Political Junkie Mom
National Review
Memeorandum

Sen. Lindsey Graham doesn't like all the name calling coming from the Right

I had no intention of posting twice on Sen. Lindsey Graham (the other post is at Potluck) but this takes the cake:

I have been to enough college campuses to know if you are 30 or younger this climate issue is not a debate. It’s a value. These young people grew up with recycling and a sensitivity to the environment — and the world will be better off for it. They are not brainwashed. … From a Republican point of view, we should buy into it and embrace it and not belittle them. You can have a genuine debate about the science of climate change, but when you say that those who believe it are buying a hoax and are wacky people you are putting at risk your party’s future with younger people.

So, on one hand you have the Global Warming cultists calling we skeptics Nazis and on other, we skeptics are calling Global Warming cultists "wacky" and suggesting that they just might be gullible.  Yeah, I can see how that equates in Graham's world. 

Depending on who we are talking about in the Global Warming crowd I might call them wacky, gullible and victims.  I might call them scammers, con men or lying sacks of ....  Well, you get the idea.  But, I don't call people with whom I disagree "Nazis".  Fascists, yes.  Nazis, no.

That said, Graham doesn't do young people any favors by pandering to them.  His suggestion that the Republican Party, as a matter of policy, should take advantage of young people because of their youthful but misplaced idealism, is stomach churning.  Instead, how about if we are honest with young people.  The science is not settled and it is becoming less settled every day. 

Give young people the facts.  Talk to them about the myriad of ways that we can protect the environment while we increase our energy independence but don't pander for political gain.