Mark Steyn Wallops Lindsey Graham On Latest Call to 'Shut Up'
On Sunday's Meet the Press, Sen. Lindsey Graham said “Congress should sort of shut up and not empower Qaddafi” by discussing the possibility of cutting off funding for military operations there. He also said it was a boo-boo for Republican candidates to think that getting “to the left” of Obama on war is a path to victory in the GOP primary. At National Review's The Corner, Mark Steyn joined Mark Levin in disparaging Graham. (Levin calls him "Goober.") Laura Ingraham has also mocked his previous "shut up" comments:
Daniel, re Lindsey Graham’s suggestion that everyone should just “shut up” about the Libyan Non-War, you’ll recall that the last time the Senator attracted any attention in these parts he was also telling everyone to shut up – this time about Islam. Maybe it would be easier if he just issued the rest of us with an approved list of conversational topics. Alternatively, here’s a suggestion for Senator Graham: Why don’t you shut up? Not permanently, but just long enough to:
a) reflect whether this apparently reflexive response of yours is really appropriate for a citizen-legislator in a self-governing republic;
b) articulate a rationale for the Libyan mission that would be so persuasive it would save you the trouble of making a fool of yourself by insisting that those who have the temerity to disagree with you are beyond the bounds of public discourse;
and c) spend ten minutes in a darkened room with a nice cup of herbal tea and ponder, re your assertion that those who won’t “shut up” are “empowering Qaddafi”, whether that line has any credibility coming from a member of the Congressional jet set who only two years ago was ”empowering Qaddafi” by taking tea in the pock-marked transvestite’s tent as part of some greasy little Senatorial outreach mission.
It's not easy being on the other side of Mark Steyn, especially when you're flip-flopping. Steyn concluded:
It was striking that, at Monday’s debate, even the more hawkish candidates were unable to articulate a rationale for the present Afghan mission. It’s hard to win a war when you don’t have war aims, and, as I wrote in National Review a couple of weeks back, America has gotten into the habit of unwon wars – in part because a buffoon like Graham and his dictatorial air miles are what passes for geostrategic “expertise” in Washington.
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Comments
No Lindsay, YOU SHUT UP!
Submitted by syvyn11 on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 6:52am.
No Lindsay, YOU SHUT UP! Stupid RINO say what?
Let Us Discuss When Lindsey Will Leave.
Submitted by Avitar on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 7:01am.
The sooner he leaves office the better. It is funny as the least of the Republican Seators It just does not sink in that he is the worst and he is not evern from a bad state as is Scott Brown.
Graham will be a Presidential candandidate in 2016 . . .
Submitted by Galvanic on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 8:19am.
. . . if Obama is reelected in 2012. He might also run if a Tea Party-type Republican wins 2012.
Years ago as a Congressman, Graham displayed some potential as a conservative, but these days, he's just another baron of the Beltway. Graham is not only an attorney, but a JAG in the USAF Reserve; he understands the rules of war, international conventions regarding war, and the Constitution. He should be one of the most outspoken critics of Obama's un-Constitutional misadventure, but instead he aligns with it.
People can label him a RINO, but it's guys like him, McConnell, Hatch, and McCain that run the GOP. They are the face of the Republican Party.
The nation is ready for new parties, and the sooner the better.
Which is why the GOP needs to
Submitted by Scuba Dude on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 8:27am.
Which is why the GOP needs to start purging folks like Graham, McCain, Hatch and other RINO's from the ranks.
Graham has grown to comfortable up there on the Hill. The people need to tell him to shut up by kicking his arse out of office.
If Obama gets reelected next year, there will be no election in
Submitted by Dave. on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 10:02am.
....2016, as there will be no America to hold one in.
No joke.
This is it.
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
Little Miss Lindsay is another reason for term limits.
Submitted by Red Jeep on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 7:09am.
Little Miss Lindsay is another example as to why Senators should go back to being un-elected state ambassadors to the Federal Government as they were from the founding of this country until 1913 when their status was changed by amendment, and Senators became the Panderers.
Senators like Little Miss Lindsay get the power of being a Senator and all of a sudden think they are experts on everything, even though they have no real life experience or training on much of anything.
Little Miss Lindsay should retire or be retired, marry the man he loves, and fade into the sunset and leave the rest of us alone.
These quasi-conservatives seem to always want to be
Submitted by gmaniac1 on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 7:32am.
in the liberals hip pocket. It reminds me of a debate I recently got in with another "conservative" over something similar.
I believe that people like Senator Graham and people like him trying to silence the opposition is such a liberal tactic.
Right of wrong a spirited debate is healthy as long as you don't use foul language and liberal buzzwords like "tolerance," "civility" (Obama's favorite), and the like.
This is what is wrong with the conservative movement and trying play nice. Liberals may play nice but once they don't need you anymore you're treated like a dog in the pound.
Then when they don't get their way like Mr. Graham they just want you to "shut up." He may not be a liberal all told but he sure acts like one!
Saving Private Obama
Submitted by MidAmerica on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 7:56am.
Lindsey is less worried about Gaddaffi than he is of his democrat friends. He and McCain have gotten their band back together and are playing their favorite tune, 'Reach Across the Aisle'. There's nothing those two love more than sanctimonious lecturing of Republicans in defending democrats.
But in this 'war that isn't a war' that obama claimed was only a protection of civilians with a no-fly zone, not regime change, that would only last days not weeks and now months later and billions spent later and the deaths of who knows how many thousands of Libyans later everything said at the beginning of this involvement has been turned upside down. In fact, all of the slogans used against Bush for the Iraq invasion (lied us into an illegal war, he's a war criminal, quagmire, no exit strategy, etc.) are literally true in obama's war against Libya. Karma is such a bitch.
Great analogy
Submitted by Galvanic on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 8:33am.
Looking back on the film Saving Private Ryan, the mission could rightly be labeled "humanitarian."
There's no doubt now that the military operation directed against Libya are a race against time, with two principal outcomes for the US.
I. The Gaddafi regime is ended and a new Libyan government emerges. Obama declares himself a good guy, and the media hail his misadventure as the Obama Doctrine -- the template for coalition warfare in the 21st Century.
II. Gaddafi's regimes survives until a major NATO-inflicted catastrophe focuses US public attention this war and the public demands our withdrawal, both militarily and financially, at which point Obama withdraws and claims victory.
Meanwhile, we continue to finance 75% of the NATO operation.
Lindsey needs a Dontopedectomy
Submitted by Blonde on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 12:46pm.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qeyrp-V3Jvc&NR=1
(a la Prince Phillip, removal of one's foot from one's mouth). Remember when Lindsay said "people should be held accountable" for burning the Koran?
Ann Barnhardt had this response...LINDSEY YOU ASS! I sincerely hope she does V.2.0 in the next few days.
Maybe Lindsey needs a lobotomy, it would surely improve his IQ.
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
Relax, Lindsey....
Submitted by motherbelt on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 7:57am.
It's not a war, anyway....it's a "kinetic military action."
Just some Non-hostile bombing.
Graham and McCain... Dumb and Dumber...
Submitted by acaiguana on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 8:09am.
Kill people and blow things up. Um... that would be a war, huh?
And Graham/McCain appear to simply want to have a war with no purpose.
Oops, I forgot the purpose. The purpose is to... um...
Never mind.
ACA
...
Quoted from: 'Acaiguana notes from the Underground' (Soon to be at theaters near you)
a war they can support
Submitted by MidAmerica on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 8:21am.
Another casualty of this Libyan war is the credibility of the so-called anti-war groups.
Their cover is blown. They aren't anti-war just anti-Republican.
Ouch
Submitted by rockyracoon on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 8:23am.
Miss Lindsay, that's gonna leave a scar!!! Let us all hope that there is someone, somewhere in SC that is working on ridding the Senate of this wimpy RINO.
Facts are like kryptonite to the liberal.
To the left of Obama?
Submitted by Kimnota on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 8:27am.
People who want to know the reason for war in Lybia are to the left of Obama? I would say that's a real conservative place to be...all the way back to the founding of our country when these great men warned about avoiding foreigh entanglements. This is not a left right issue.
WSJ said it much better than Sen. Graham
Submitted by The Vet on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 8:38am.
The Kucinich Republicans
House Republicans have made much of their devotion to the Constitution, and on Friday they showed how wise the Founders really were. The House debate on Libya was a fiasco of evasion and posturing that vindicated the Founders for not trusting Congress with the power to run a war.
The most remarkable spectacle was the emergence of the Kucinich Republicans, who voted for Ohio Democrat Dennis Kucinich's resolution that would stop U.S. military action in Libya within 15 days. At least Mr. Kucinich is consistent in opposing U.S. force against dictators and other enemies no matter who sits in the Oval Office.
But what is the explanation for the 87 Republicans, including the likes of Indiana's Dan Burton and Wisconsin's Jim Sensenbrenner, who transform themselves into isolationists when a Democrat takes over the White House? Michele Bachmann, the Minnesota tea party favorite, also voted for the Kucinich retreat, which means she will start her campaign to become Commander in Chief by running to the left of President Obama and Nancy Pelosi. Teddy Roosevelt or Ronald Reagan, Mrs. Bachmann is not.
~
As a spokesman for Secretary of Defense Robert Gates put it during the Libya debate, the vote "sends an unhelpful message of disunity and uncertainty to our troops, our allies and, most importantly, the Gadhafi regime." The esteemed Members want to vote against the war, without actually taking responsibility for stopping it.
~
If Mr. Obama won't defend his office, then Republicans ought to. This is what Mitch McConnell and John McCain are doing in the Senate, and it would be useful if some of the GOP Presidential candidates spoke up in the same way. Mr. Obama deserves criticism for his uncertain war resolve, and for tying himself down, like Gulliver, with a weak U.N. Security Council resolution and Arab League permission to act. But this is no excuse for tying his hands further at home in a way that will only increase the price of victory.
Losers
Submitted by iveseenitall on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 9:42am.
In my opinion, the WSJ is wrong on this issue. About whose "victory" are they talking?
As is the case with most of the Washington elite, left or right, McCain and Graham are simply arrogant, closed-minded losers ( they LOST in 2008---duh!). Yet they can't see beyond their own little clique. And, as with most of the Washington elite, left or right, they are out of touch with the American people. Washington is an island unto itself, inhabited with aliens who, along with the media elite, act in accordance with the principles of King George III: common sense be damned, the people be damned, right and truth be damned, close your eyes and ears and do whatever is in YOUR best interest. There is no doubt that America must turn inward at this time and that its "representatives" must care more about its citizens than they do about the citizens of any other nation in the world. If they don't, they should get out of town. Smug self-satisfaction by those who are presently suffering nothing from the state of our nation is not what we need right now. They blabe away, waste our money and send our kids to die for nothing while they play golf, talk to and with each other, and line their own pockets (witness Nancy Pelosi's latest bank account). Disgusting!
BTW---Yes, the time has come for TERM LIMITS.
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal" (progressive)
Shut up Gates too!
Submitted by jon_torlin on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 9:14am.
It's comical that Gates says that the vote or whatever action Congress takes sends a message of disunity. The Chairman's already done that, and the world's laughing at him!
As for this whole thing about Libya, it's a NATO led mission except instead of the US leading the charge like it usually does, it took the back seat in favor of the French! The Chairman abdicated the US's sovereignty by doing that making the US subject to another country. It's one thing for the US to have a joint mission, but to be led? Just one more thing for the Chairman to make the US not be a world superpower. And NATO relies on us, without the US, they are stuck.
There's simply no cause for us to get involved with Libya's politics, especially if the rebels have ties to the Brotherhood or some other terrorist organization, as has been recently discovered. And calling these actions "kinetic military action" (KMA) or "non-hostilities" is just plain absurd.
-Jon
Where is our "Free" Press?
Submitted by iveseenitall on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 9:59am.
The latest news reports another "loss" of our money in Iraq. Add this to money in Haiti, Afghanistan, the "stimulus" money, and more ... all gone without a trace. Our Constitution is in tatters. And where's our press ( Fox included ) --- bulls*&^%ing on one talk-show after another. Looking the other way and lining their own pockets. And sadly, among the people as well as the media, apathy and ignorance reign supreme. Sad.
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"(progressive)
Where is our Free Press?
Submitted by Red Jeep on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 9:58am.
Casey Anthony Trial
Right....
Submitted by iveseenitall on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 11:02am.
Right on, Red Jeep. And then they'll tell you how they are "looking out for the folks". What "folks" are they looking out for, exactly? --- Scheeze!
BTW---are your going to the new Bolder,Fresher Tour? Pay your bucks and laugh --- while Rome burns. It's the implied Constituional duty of the free press to seek out corruption in order to protect the American people, not to be "entertainers",damn it. They've blurred the line and shunned their responsibilities in order to, first and foremost, get rich. Nothing wrong with getting rich, but don't claim it's for any other reason and don't claim you're performing the duty of "jounalists". No wonder Beck is leaving Fox. I admit, he's also gotten rich, but I think he's seen the light. Futhermore, I believe FOX really doesn't like what he does---expose the truth. It's dangerous, ya' know.
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal" ( progressive)
Lindsey, Lindsey, - Obama's eveready friend across the isle
Submitted by Don L on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 12:42pm.
To think that this is a nation that can lose Amilia Earheart, and we can't lose this loose cannon.
The real danger of a RINO (Rahm-ney president
Submitted by Don L on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 12:53pm.
.
"Years ago as a Congressman, Graham displayed some potential as a conservative"
Like Rahmney -they'll say whatever the folks want to hear, but once in, they become our worse enemy.
That's why an unprincipled flip-floping, finger -wetting, RINO is the worse possible choice for the GOP. It's not that they can't be trusted -it is precisely because they can be trusted - to back-stab all conservatives in order to receive accolades from the Marxist propagandists in the media.
Take a deep (Obama type) bow Lindsey - before the leftist bus with the big wheels comes for you.
Graham doesn't get the love from South Carolina
Submitted by carolina09 on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 3:54pm.
He was telling us to shut up, too, and that we're "angry white people." Or, in Graham's parlance, "angry what people." Remember his appearance before LaRaza, where he was going to tell the bigots to shut up?
One reason I don't watch the Sabbath Gasbag shows is that I might catch a glimpse of this gasbagger.
His donors are all trial lawyers and energy companies and the Chamber of Commerce. I wish they'd tell him to shut up.
Two words, senator--Bob Inglis.
A mighty long time to hold your breath
Submitted by needle on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 10:42pm.
Every time I see one of these articles concerning the flaming anus of the Republican Senate caucus I go off to my database to check when can this nincompoop be primaried. And every time I check the answer is the same: not until 2014!
The only good news here is that this gives anyone who want to be a senator from South Carolina a lot of time to prepare.
- Looking forward to the self-annihilation of the Manipulated Stories Machine.