Congress continues to obstruct everything from the confirmation of a Secretary of Defense to resolution of the impending sequestration which threatens to damage everything from jobs to defense. Just as they were able to win the House of Representatives in 2010, the Republicans continue to believe that their future resides in the destruction of the Obama Administration. The contradictions and hypocrisies that lost them the Presidency as well as seats in Congress in 2012 have merely translated to a need to reword the message, and a double-down against the President.
If you have watched any video of South Carolina's own Lindsey Graham lately, you will see a mean, whiny and self-serving man who is out of touch with his constituents as well as with the country he professes to love. The state which he presumes to represent ranks #13 out of 50 in instances of gun violence, yet he opposes any gun control measures. He has made false and absurd statements about people whom Obama might be interested in nominating to cabinet positions, from Susan Rice (who had not even been nominated) to Chuck Hagel, lately having the gall to indicate that he would hold up Hagel's nomination based on circumstances totally unrelated to his qualifications.
Amidst upwardly spiraling gun violence, we have no director at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Judicial appointments have been routinely blocked, leading to backlogs on dockets across the country. We have all heard of all the legislation that had once been supported (in fact, proposed) by republicans that has been denounced as soon as it was supported by President Obama.
Are we safe? If we are, it is not thanks to the republicans in Congress, but because of all the end runs the President has had to make around them.
While today Lindsey Graham might be cheering on Obama's use of drone strikes, the President could not count on Congress to engage in constructive debate around such an important issue. Because Congressional republicans continue to behave like tantrumming toddlers, tyrants and bullies, Obama could no more ask for help in creating rules for the use of drones than he might have asked for a hand in planning the assassination of Osama Bin Laden.
As a man with great respect for the law, who also takes seriously the task of protecting the American people with as little loss of life as possible, perhaps the use of drones was the only option available to this president.
Showing posts with label Susan Rice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Susan Rice. Show all posts
Friday, February 22, 2013
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Who IS Lindsey Graham?
I think it's safe to say you can't pin him down. I remember when he used to be the sane and reasonable of South Carolina's two senators. Admittedly, it's a low bar, but still.
During the bashing of Sonia Sotomayor during the Supreme Court justice's confirmation hearings, Graham indicated that, while she may not have been his choice, it was the president's prerogative to choose a nominee that reflected his values. Why then, has he been first in line to beat up on Obama's cabinet picks, even before he has picked them?
Hand in hand with best buddy John McCain, Graham attacked Susan Rice over her Sunday talk show comments regarding the causes of the attacks in Benghazi. As though she were on the intelligence front lines. His goal may have been payback for John Bolton, but the intensity and inappropriate timing of the Rice attacks are more reminiscent of Graham's June, 2012, assault on Eric Holder, who was left holding the bag for a secret Bush gun program that backfired. Interesting that after the outing of Valeria Plame during the Bush years, Graham could get so incensed over White House leaks.
But that Susan Rice deal made Graham look pretty tough, so much so that he went after Chuck Hagel, disappointed that Hagel wasn't the vicious defender of freedom that he would have liked.
On the other hand, as long as we're talking strange inconsistencies, Graham has just gone to bat for our President in the matter of drone attacks. The man should be able to kill whoever he wants, he's the President, Graham contends.
And then we have Lindsey Graham on gun control:
He impressed no less than Jon Stewart with his argument against restricting weapon capacity: "Changing the magazine -- I can do that pretty quick." And seeking to top his own self in the crazy category: "We need high capacity magazines so moms won't run out of bullets defending their kids."
I think I have the answer, though, to this conundrum that is Lindsey Graham. It came to me as I was reading Bob Woodward's The Price of Politics. During the interminable and unproductive fiscal wrangling last year, Joe Biden accuses Graham of messing with him on the payroll tax extension. According to Woodward, Graham replies,
When I read that quote, I got it. Our Lindsey Graham's number 1 job is Lindsey Graham. And that means speaking to his constituency: those overly-trusting yet paranoid, Fox informed, equal parts American patriot and confederate that have kept him in office all these long years.
And those comments about a President's right to nominate whatever left wing justice he chooses just did not set as well with those constituents as supporting Obama's right to fire them drones. Votes like those supporting the confirmation of Justice Sotomayor just plain old got his base riled up enough to wander off the base, if you know what I mean.
Those murmurs about a challenge from the right just might be happening. But have no fear. Lindsey Graham can "change that magazine pretty quick." He's proven that he can fight, on any side he needs to be. He's not worried about sounding crazy, just soft. And when he says things that don't seem to make sense, that too may be part of the plan. He may just be "fucking with you."
During the bashing of Sonia Sotomayor during the Supreme Court justice's confirmation hearings, Graham indicated that, while she may not have been his choice, it was the president's prerogative to choose a nominee that reflected his values. Why then, has he been first in line to beat up on Obama's cabinet picks, even before he has picked them?
Hand in hand with best buddy John McCain, Graham attacked Susan Rice over her Sunday talk show comments regarding the causes of the attacks in Benghazi. As though she were on the intelligence front lines. His goal may have been payback for John Bolton, but the intensity and inappropriate timing of the Rice attacks are more reminiscent of Graham's June, 2012, assault on Eric Holder, who was left holding the bag for a secret Bush gun program that backfired. Interesting that after the outing of Valeria Plame during the Bush years, Graham could get so incensed over White House leaks.
But that Susan Rice deal made Graham look pretty tough, so much so that he went after Chuck Hagel, disappointed that Hagel wasn't the vicious defender of freedom that he would have liked.
On the other hand, as long as we're talking strange inconsistencies, Graham has just gone to bat for our President in the matter of drone attacks. The man should be able to kill whoever he wants, he's the President, Graham contends.
And then we have Lindsey Graham on gun control:
I think I have the answer, though, to this conundrum that is Lindsey Graham. It came to me as I was reading Bob Woodward's The Price of Politics. During the interminable and unproductive fiscal wrangling last year, Joe Biden accuses Graham of messing with him on the payroll tax extension. According to Woodward, Graham replies,
I'm not fucking with you. I mean, it's not that I'm beyond fucking with you. I'm just not fucking with you here.
And those comments about a President's right to nominate whatever left wing justice he chooses just did not set as well with those constituents as supporting Obama's right to fire them drones. Votes like those supporting the confirmation of Justice Sotomayor just plain old got his base riled up enough to wander off the base, if you know what I mean.
Those murmurs about a challenge from the right just might be happening. But have no fear. Lindsey Graham can "change that magazine pretty quick." He's proven that he can fight, on any side he needs to be. He's not worried about sounding crazy, just soft. And when he says things that don't seem to make sense, that too may be part of the plan. He may just be "fucking with you."
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Dear Lindsey,
Apparently, in the midst of your identity crisis, you have decided to advertise on Daily Kos to get support for your Benghazi rant. It must have been quite the thrill when you learned of Susan Rice's investment portfolio, which includes the company building the Keystone XL pipeline, and even better, that it was a "liberal" group (RootsAction) that is demanding her immediate divestment of those funds.
Wow. Just step back and watch the Dems shoot themselves in the foot. Hasn't happened for awhile. You must have forgotten how good that feels.
Well, back to Benghazi. You should step back a bit from those late night bitch sessions with John McCain, and realize just how crazy your paranoia really is. You know there was nothing for Obama to gain by denying that terrorism was at the root of the attack weeks before the election. If anything, terrorism would have gained him votes. Let us not forget just how many free miles W. redeemed by playing the terrorism card.
Pardon me for mixing metaphors. I am giddy with the insanity of the post-election right-wingnuts.
I have already gone on about how silly it is for you and grumpy old John to attack Rice's statements on the Sunday talk shows. And then the old coot actually insulted her intelligence!
When I first heard the comment I was sure it had to have come from a Saturday Night Live skit. But no, that was John McCain at his most irascible. Don't you just want to grab him by the shoulders sometimes and say, "Look in the mirror, John!"
It is also obvious that the Republican strategy is to move Kerry out of the Senate and make way for Scott Brown, who, if I may remind you, lost the election. I'm not going to say it's not going to happen because, well, we are Democrats, and we don't like easy goals. But you can't deny it: either you are plotting with the republicans so you can get that Massachusetts seat back (and maybe be able to ride around with Scott Brown in his pickup), or you are attacking a qualified African-American woman because you cannot admit that she is a qualified African-American woman.
Either case, Lindsey, I hope that you are smart enough to look to the future, like, two years into the future. Those guys you've been hanging out with at home in South Carolina don't like you anymore. You're left with the unpopular out of town kids, like John McCain. You are very likely to be challenged by the Tea Party, because you will never be crazy enough to be accepted by them. And while John McCain gives a good rendition of the Mad Hatter, he's going to make it harder for you to be friends with anyone on either side.
So that leaves, well, just trying to do the right thing. You have had bouts of that in the past, so I know you can do it. Just ask yourself what would Lindsey Graham do if Mitt was in the White House. Because I know you wouldn't agree with him all the time either, but chances would be good that the arguments would be a bit more grounded in reality.
Respectfully,
Agnes
Wow. Just step back and watch the Dems shoot themselves in the foot. Hasn't happened for awhile. You must have forgotten how good that feels.
Well, back to Benghazi. You should step back a bit from those late night bitch sessions with John McCain, and realize just how crazy your paranoia really is. You know there was nothing for Obama to gain by denying that terrorism was at the root of the attack weeks before the election. If anything, terrorism would have gained him votes. Let us not forget just how many free miles W. redeemed by playing the terrorism card.
Pardon me for mixing metaphors. I am giddy with the insanity of the post-election right-wingnuts.
I have already gone on about how silly it is for you and grumpy old John to attack Rice's statements on the Sunday talk shows. And then the old coot actually insulted her intelligence!
When I first heard the comment I was sure it had to have come from a Saturday Night Live skit. But no, that was John McCain at his most irascible. Don't you just want to grab him by the shoulders sometimes and say, "Look in the mirror, John!"
It is also obvious that the Republican strategy is to move Kerry out of the Senate and make way for Scott Brown, who, if I may remind you, lost the election. I'm not going to say it's not going to happen because, well, we are Democrats, and we don't like easy goals. But you can't deny it: either you are plotting with the republicans so you can get that Massachusetts seat back (and maybe be able to ride around with Scott Brown in his pickup), or you are attacking a qualified African-American woman because you cannot admit that she is a qualified African-American woman.
Either case, Lindsey, I hope that you are smart enough to look to the future, like, two years into the future. Those guys you've been hanging out with at home in South Carolina don't like you anymore. You're left with the unpopular out of town kids, like John McCain. You are very likely to be challenged by the Tea Party, because you will never be crazy enough to be accepted by them. And while John McCain gives a good rendition of the Mad Hatter, he's going to make it harder for you to be friends with anyone on either side.
So that leaves, well, just trying to do the right thing. You have had bouts of that in the past, so I know you can do it. Just ask yourself what would Lindsey Graham do if Mitt was in the White House. Because I know you wouldn't agree with him all the time either, but chances would be good that the arguments would be a bit more grounded in reality.
Respectfully,
Agnes
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
There They Go Again
I see where our own Lindsay Graham and his BFF John McCain are trying to bully poor Susan Rice presumably over comments she made on Meet the Press. If you have ever watched any of those Sunday talk shows, you will know that they basically display more tap dancing around issues than you'll see on Dancing with the Stars.
Rachel Maddow pointed out yesterday that John McCain's hobby is appearing on Sunday talk shows, no doubt because it eases the loneliness of Sundays without dinner invitations. And if you've seen John McCain on any Sunday talk show, you will know that the standard he sets is somewhere between lies and crazy.
So can we all agree that the issue is not what Susan Rice said on Meet the Press? The issue is the same one that we were observing a few months ago when House maniac Darrell Issa led the charge against Attorney General Eric Holder for the made-up conspiracy regarding Fast and Furious. You remember, the more questions he answered, the more he complied with requests for files, the angrier they got.
Also reminiscent of the witch hunts against Bill and Hillary in the 90's, when the only thing they could turn up for sure was a dress with semen on it.
On the other hand, the more they can toss around the excrement, the more they are hoping to distract us from, oh, raising taxes on the 1 percent (in other words, members of this very governing body). If we get riled up enough about some Obama conspiracy, maybe we won't notice them trying to raise the social security retirement age.
Unfortunately, the excrement they are tossing around is their own, and they have plenty more where that came from.
The tragedy of course, is that yet another good member of the Obama team is getting dragged through Congress, this time the Senate. And although I am hearing the hopeful say that Obama is in this for the duration, there are a lot of bodies of strewn nominees that have been laid to waste over the last four years, by a Congress that has no respect for the President or the institution of the Presidency.
I am thinking that it would be good if Obama was ready to stand up to these idiots, and give us four years that we can be proud of. Signs say this could happen, so stay tuned.
Rachel Maddow pointed out yesterday that John McCain's hobby is appearing on Sunday talk shows, no doubt because it eases the loneliness of Sundays without dinner invitations. And if you've seen John McCain on any Sunday talk show, you will know that the standard he sets is somewhere between lies and crazy.
So can we all agree that the issue is not what Susan Rice said on Meet the Press? The issue is the same one that we were observing a few months ago when House maniac Darrell Issa led the charge against Attorney General Eric Holder for the made-up conspiracy regarding Fast and Furious. You remember, the more questions he answered, the more he complied with requests for files, the angrier they got.
Also reminiscent of the witch hunts against Bill and Hillary in the 90's, when the only thing they could turn up for sure was a dress with semen on it.
On the other hand, the more they can toss around the excrement, the more they are hoping to distract us from, oh, raising taxes on the 1 percent (in other words, members of this very governing body). If we get riled up enough about some Obama conspiracy, maybe we won't notice them trying to raise the social security retirement age.
Unfortunately, the excrement they are tossing around is their own, and they have plenty more where that came from.
The tragedy of course, is that yet another good member of the Obama team is getting dragged through Congress, this time the Senate. And although I am hearing the hopeful say that Obama is in this for the duration, there are a lot of bodies of strewn nominees that have been laid to waste over the last four years, by a Congress that has no respect for the President or the institution of the Presidency.
I am thinking that it would be good if Obama was ready to stand up to these idiots, and give us four years that we can be proud of. Signs say this could happen, so stay tuned.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)