Lindsey Graham is turning into a character in a Gothic horror novel. He was once a decent enough guy, considered an honorable man, at least enough to be friends with the likes of Joe Biden and John McCain. But McCain died, he stabbed Biden in the back, and now, for reasons that only he — and perhaps QAnon — knows, he’s targeted Kamala Harris. As they say down in Lindsey’s neck of the woods, land sakes alive, chile. Do you know what you’ve done?
Sen. @LindseyGrahamSC: "I don't know how Kamala Harris doesn't get impeached if the Republicans take over the House, because she actually bailed out rioters"pic.twitter.com/CA4uKJHbqz
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) February 14, 2021
The obvious take is that Graham is doing to Harris what a 20-year-long right-wing hack job did to Hillary Clinton, and that’s sowing the seeds of doubt, making her out to be a wild leftist Che Guevara-esque screaming liberal. That’s a scary image anyhow, but couple it with a female leader — the scariest image of all, OMG, a woman in charge — and it is some heady toxic spill that Graham just let loose.
He said it for some reason. And is that because the GOP is moving ever more openly towards the wing-nut image of Civil War II and Lindsey wants to be the new Jefferson Davis? Or did he do it because when he dared to come out in opposition of Trump that one time, he was followed and cursed at Reagan Airport by MAGAs and he’s terrified of them? Or, is he just plain self-immolating?
He knows those optics are warmly welcomed by the core of the GQP base. It is why he said such, in reality he personally has no moral center or ethical base. Everything is relative to what keeps Lindsey in a position of power, wealth & influence…
— Escape Velocity… sssh I 'neeked out again (@EscapVelocity) February 14, 2021
Sounds like Lindsey is rounding up the hemp and a tree for to harvest strange fruit for at least 43 senators
— Observer (@TheTweetsTimes) February 14, 2021
His racism and misogyny are exactly what got him reelected.
— preising (@preising) February 14, 2021
I wish it were political suicide, but he just won re-election.
— Knitter. Reader. New Yorker. (@annalise229) February 14, 2021
I don’t know how to call this. The only thing I am certain of is that Graham was terrified at the reception his disavowal of Trump got and the reaction at the airport. He doesn’t want any more of that. So he did the only thing he could do, he snapped back into full MAGA QAnon mode and apparently that’s where he’s going to stay. The only question now is will that fly? And I’m sure Graham is wondering that very thing.
Graham looks very tired and drawn since the election loss, the insurrection, his adventure at Reagan Airport, all of it. I’m pretty sure he understands at this point that he made a Faustian bargain getting in bed with Donald Trump and there’s no going back. I feel no sympathy, whatsoever. He had the friendship of John McCain and Joe Biden. If he understood anything about life, that is what he would have put first, over the shallowness of getting into the spotlight with whomever happened to hold it at that moment. He knew exactly who and what Trump was, just like the rest of us. He betrayed his own instincts and sold his integrity to be part of the show. Maybe now he sees what a price he paid.
He may be afraid of what investigation of his own actions will turn up. Georgia is looking at him…
What is he even talking about “bailed out rioters”? And doesn’t he realize that, as many predicted, impeachment is dead as weapon, because if you can’t impeach a president for inciting sedition, you certainly have no ground to stand on to ever again impeach one for a blow job? (No, I don’t believe that silly “now they’ll do it to us” thing because everything else is trivial compared to what Trump did). Whatever Trump has on Lindsey it must be a real doozy.
I think he’s just looking to put idiocy out into the public discourse. I remember seeing a right-wing YouTube video years ago showing Hillary Clinton owning a private air strip where planes would deliver drugs. It was pure batshit, but we saw how well it worked, right? That’s the direction Graham is taking us.
One thing about Graham stands out like a shiny coin, he has demonstrated huge swings in red-faced rage in meetings of Congress, the beer drinking/water flooding judge-to-be was a spectacular blow up to swing away the Democrat’s continuous probes into a less-than-pristine background, the two maximum, well-prepared interviewers, were, OMG women !!
One was Kamala, the other, a mere Senator from Minnesota … these two special people have proved their might and, in the big picture, Graham had NOTHING, just his own rage that they were attacking this fine gentleman in such a mean way …
It was maddening to see and hear, it was the first REAL exposure to his complete swing into la la land … and those two women were showing their moxie was SO MUCH more than anything the GOP had to offer …
There you have it, I think, Kamala has been inoculated into his slipping mind … she has been a very well placed thorn under the saddles of many GOP gas bags …
Lindsay Graham is a (political) parasite. Since his first name begins the the letter L I like to use the Lamprey (it’s not technically an eel but looks like really nasty one with that mouth with rings of teeth) as in Lamprey Lindsay. John McCain was his “host” and Graham kept himself latched on tight until McCain was so deep into death’s throes that Graham had to find another host and fast. Like anyone else with half a brain he knew how easily Trump could be flattered and he also knew how important he was going to become r.e. the Judiciary Committee so he latched on to Trump. He thought Trump would be like any other host and that he could detach himself any time he wanted. Well, he’s learned the hard way that’s not the case. His system is “infected” now and he can’t survive without the specific gunk from that one specific host that sustains him.
If you’d like a less gross example, think of him as say an accountant who grew up best buds in childhood with someone who wound up in organized crime like the mob or a drug cartel. An accountant would have a special set of skills useful to such organizations as you know. Let’s say our accountant is having deep financial troubles for whatever reason. He’s honest so maybe he didn’t even do anything wrong, just got creamed in the market and developed a cash flow problem or maybe went through a divorce and had a crooked lawyer. Whatever. Then he happens to run across his old friend who hears his sad story. Mr. “friend” checks in with his bosses and makes an offer. Handle some matter that is fairly routine looking but still crosses the line. Nothing too serious. It’s the kind of thing that probably wouldn’t get our accountant in any real legal trouble or risk his certification by his state but could result in an inquiry that would at most result in slap on the wrist. However, given his other troubles the publicity would be bad and could ruin his practice but he’s in a real bind and figures the risk is worth it to have a clean slate with all that debt cleared away. So he does a “just this once” favor for his childhood pal even though he quickly realizes once he meets some others that he’s in way over his head. But his friend “promised” him it would be just this once and he let his good judgement go by the wayside.
Alas, once he gets involved in his “just this one time” or “just until next year when their taxes are filed” deal they have their hooks in him. They leave him alone even. For a little while. That’s why the shock when his “friend” invites him to some fancy dinner and it turns out to be in a private room with some really hard core boss or bosses it comes as such a shock. They make it clear that they own him now, and he will be doing “favors” from them from now on. If he tries to walk away and take his chances with the state regulators? Well, they have their ways of making it clear to him that the best he can hope for is to have his legitimate business ruined. And that his only option at that point will be to work for them and only them full time, only not as some fancy, high living “respectable to the public” accountant but stuck away and making a LOT less money than he can have if he accepts his new fate.
Our accountant is trapped. He knows it. So he gets in deeper and deeper and the deeper he gets the more he learns. He quickly gets to a point where he knows enough to be dangerous to the organization if the feds get a line on him, and he knows just how dangerous that could be. Even if he doesn’t talk they might decide to make sure in the most permanent of ways. And if he does he will never have a moment the rest of his life, even in Witness Protection that he feels he will ever be truly safe.
Graham’s airport encounter with rank and file MAGAts after his “I’m out” speech was his “nice” warning shot. It was the equivalent of the organized crime folks doing the “nice lifestyle you’ve had. It would be a shame to see you busted financially and living in some crappy little apartment trying to get by on minimum wage routine. With a dose of “And if you don’t get back on board and make it CLEAR you are back on board that’s the best you can hope for” for good measure. Graham got the message alright.
With MAGA land backing Trump up, Trump owns him lock, stock & barrel.