Lindsey Graham Enshrined In The G.O.P. Hall Of Shame

Have you heard that scientists are going to start using lawyers and politicians instead of rats for laboratory experiments? Apparently, this keeps the scientists from becoming too attached to their subjects . . . and there are simply some things even a rat won’t do.

While it’s true that every member of The Strident Conservative G.O.P. Hall of Shame is worse than a rat when it comes to standing up for Conservative values, our newest member—who happens to be a lawyer and a politician—proves that he is second to none.   

First elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002, Lindsey Graham (R-ino SC) has a history of playing a “little loose” with his commitment to Conservative values in areas such as: smaller government, immigration reform, global warming, and taxes. However, the intensity of his anti-Conservative behavior since his reelection in 2008 is cause for great concern.

In 2009, Graham co-sponsored a letter to President Obama along with John Kerry and Joe Lieberman announcing their commitment to passing a climate change bill and outlining its framework. Graham was the likely sponsor of the final bill. The Senators identified a green economy, clean air, energy independence, consumer protection, increasing nuclear power and regulating the world’s carbon market as the key features to a successful climate change bill.

Gee, sounds more like a letter from Obama, not to him.

Due to changing priorities by Democrats at the time, Graham withdrew his support for the climate bill, leaving its passage in doubt. However, he removed all doubt about the bill in June 2010. 

“The science about global warming has changed. I think they’ve oversold this stuff, quite frankly. I think they’ve been alarmist and the science is in question. The whole movement has taken a giant step backward.”

He also stated that he planned to vote against the climate bill that he had originally co-sponsored, citing further restriction of offshore drilling added to the bill and the bill’s impact on transportation. Wow . . . what conviction. No, really. What conviction?

Graham had another change of heart flip-flop in 2010. In the summer of that year, Graham declared that the T.E.A. Party would die out before the fall elections.

“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,” Graham said in an interview with the New York Times magazine. “We don’t have a lot of Reagan-type leaders in our party. Remember Ronald Reagan Democrats? I want a Republican that can attract Democrats.”

“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,” Graham told the New York Times.

Is it just me, or did the McCain clone provide his Hall of Shame credentials with this brag-a-thon?

His clairvoyance regarding the T.E.A. Party—which followed his 2009 support of the above mentioned global-warming legislation and a Democrat plan to provide amnesty for illegal aliens—led the executive committee of the Charleston County Republican Party to unanimously vote to rebuke Mr. Graham “for many of the positions he has taken that do not represent the wishes of the people of South Carolina, such as: passing a ‘cap and trade’ energy bill, bailing out banks and granting amnesty for illegal aliens.”

Unfortunately, Lindsey isn’t any better at predicting the future than he is at being a Conservative. After the historic sweep by T.E.A. Party Republicans across America in 2010, he was forced to rethink his outlook on the movement.

“My opinion of the tea party has been … if the tea party can help deliver Social Security reform, they deserve praise. If they can help us reduce spending, they deserve praise,” Graham told POLITICO.

Graham doesn’t face reelection until 2014, but he now says Republicans like himself need a “coalition of Main Street, chamber of commerce and tea party people.”

But his on-again, off-again, on-again persona regarding the T.E.A. Party doesn’t end there. As he prepares for his re-election next year, Graham is feeling pretty spry at his prospects at facing T.E.A. Party opposition:

“I don’t worry obsessively about my political re-election. And I’ve become a very good senator. If you don’t overly worry about losing, you become hard to beat.”

Wow, and humble too!

Just this month, Graham’s attitude towards the T.E.A. Party and Libertarians reached a new low. After a historic and heroic filibuster by Senator Rand Paul (R-KY)—a thirteen-hour defense of the Constitutional right of Americans to not be killed by their President—Graham was joined by his man-crush (McCain) in a Dumb and Dumber (my apologies to Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels) tag-team attack on Senator Paul for his ridiculous behavior.

 Mr. Graham said asking whether the president has the power to kill Americans here at home is a ludicrous question.

“I do not believe that question deserves an answer,” Mr. Graham said.

Speaking to reporters after he came off the floor Wednesday, Mr. Graham said he defends Mr. Paul’s right to ask questions and seek answers, but said the filibuster has actually pushed him to now support Mr. Brennan.

Mr. Graham said he had been inclined to oppose the nomination because he’d found Brennan to be qualified for the job but also “arrogant, kind of a bit shifty.” He said he wasn’t going to filibuster him but would have voted against him on final passage, but now he’ll vote for him.

“I am going to vote for Brennan now because it’s become a referendum on the drone program,” he said.

I guess defending the Constitution and changing your vote simply for spite is how “very good Senators” who aren’t “overly worried about losing” their re-election demonstrate the conviction of their principles.

The induction of Senator Lindsey Graham was only a matter of time. After all, his BFF in the Senate (John McCain) was already enshrined. If you ever want to know where Graham stands on an issue, just ask McCain. You know, in this post-sequestration era—something that Graham opposes and is willing to fix with higher taxes—these guys could reduce spending by sharing the same office and staff . . . just an idea.

 Please join me as we enshrine our latest inductee in to the Gutless On Principle Hall of Shame . . . Senator Lindsey Graham.

 

Disclaimer: The Republican party does not necessarily agree with our choice for the G.O.P. Hall of Shame award, but they should. My opinions are my own, and I’ve got lots of them. All opinions expressed are 100% “right” and any similarity to actual opinions, living or dead, is purely coincidental.