Just when you thought he couldn't be any more of an asshole, Senator Lindsey Graham (R. SC) proves us wrong:
http://www.mediaite.com/...
On Thursday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) sharply criticized President Barack Obama’s administration’s response to the attack on the Boston Marathon on CNN. He said that the administration presided over the failure of the nation’s various security agencies to share information which may have prevented the attack. Graham said that the Obama administration “oversold” the impact that the death of Osama bin Laden would have on the capabilities of Islamic terror networks.
“I think it’s system failure,” Graham said of the Boston attack. He said that Obama deserves much credit for the 2011 raid that resulted in the death of bin Laden, but he claimed that the administration became complacent about the threat of Islamic terrorism after that success.
“The Russian intelligence services contacted the FBI and the CIA saying you’ve got a radical Islamist in your midst,” Graham said. “When he leaves to go to Russia and Dagestan, the Department of Homeland Security picks up his leaving and returning, but they don’t share it with the FBI and the CIA. That’s a system failure.”
Graham said that Tsarnaev left an electronic trail declaring his animosity towards the U.S., further suggesting that an attack was imminent.
“Bin Laden may be dead, and I’m glad he is, but radical Islam is not,” Graham said. “In our own back yard, the threat is growing. Frankly, the administration has oversold the demise of bin Laden.” - Mediaite, 4/25/13
But then Graham contradicted himself on his dickish statement:
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/...
Asked if Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano bears responsibility for allowing Tamerlan Tsarnaev to fall through the cracks of federal agencies, Graham said the fault falls on a broader scale.
"I have no idea who bears the blame. I just know the system is broken. The ultimate blame I think is with the administration," he told CNN on Capitol Hill. "The FBI and the CIA are, they have great people but you know we're going backwards in national security. Benghazi and Boston to me are examples of us going backward."
Graham has been one of the most vocal lawmakers in Congress who's been critical of the government's handling of Tsarnaev, who was investigated by the FBI in 2011 at the request of Russian authorities over concerns of radicalization.
Tsarnaev, who died last week after a shootout, and his brother, Dzokhar, are accused of plotting and carrying out last week's bombings, as well as killing an MIT police officer. The marathon blasts killed three people and wounded more than 260 others. - CNN, 4/25/13
Graham's keeping up with his fear mongering campaign against Obama. Yesterday, Graham said that the administration was "letting it's guard down" on national security:
http://www.politico.com/...
“Something’s not right here. I don’t want to be judgmental, but I want to make sure we’re safe,” the Republican from South Carolina told Martha MacCallum of Fox News. “Between Benghazi and Boston, we’re going backward in national security. This administration is letting its guard down and it is beginning to show.”
“This administration has a hard time embracing we’re at war with radical Islam. … [The surviving brother] has got a lawyer [and] he deserves all the protections of a citizen in federal court,” Graham added. “He can’t be tried by military commission because citizens are excluded, but he is a prime candidate for enemy combatant status and contrary to what some people say, American citizens have been held as enemy combatants for decades in this country when they side with the enemy. This idea of interviewing him through a lawyer makes no sense to me from a national security purpose.” - Politico, 4/24/13
Graham's been trying to build up his image as a hawk in the War On Terror to appeal to his pissed off constituents who are still angry at him for voting to allow the gun control debate to move forward in the Senate:
http://www.forbes.com/...
In a series of tweets posted by South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham on Friday, the conservative, ‘strict constructionist’ argued that nineteen-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev—suspected of being one of the Boston Marathon terrorists and taken into custody on Friday evening—should be treated as an enemy combatant and denied his due process rights under the Constitution.
Were the Administration to follow Graham’s advice, Tsarnaev would forever be denied his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent and to have the counsel of an attorney. Without these rights granted to all defendants pursuant to Miranda, anything this suspect might say to interrogators before being advised of these rights would still be admissible in a court of law.
I say ‘forever denied’ because Mr. Tsarnov will not be getting his Miranda warnings for a period of time even without declaring him an enemy combatant.
As a result of an exception to Miranda called The Public Safety Rule, the suspect can—and will—be questioned without being ‘Mirandized” for the purpose of determining if there is an imminent threat to the public safety. In this instance, any information Tsarnaev provides the specialized team that will be interrogating him will remain admissible at trial, even though he has not received his Miranda warnings.
However, this exception to Miranda begins to ‘fade’ from the moment the questioning begins. And while there is no set time limit for the exception stated in the law, it is generally assumed that the period for such questioning to determine whether an immediate public threat may exist typically cannot extend for more than forty-eight hours.
Beyond this invocation of the Public Safety Rule, Tsarneav will be accorded all the rights of due process prescribed by the Constitution, including a civil trial before a jury of his peers.He will have the right to be silent and will be entitled to a lawyer.
Were Lindsey Graham to have his way, due process rights would never be afforded the bombing suspect who is an American citizen. This would include his right to a civilian trial as, were he to be designated an enemy combatant, Tsarneav would be tried by a military tribunal where the constitutional protections extended to the rest of us are virtually non-existent.
Keep in mind that the horrible crimes that Mr. Tsarneav is accused of committing occurred on US soil and that, no matter how heinous the terrorist acts Tsareav is alleged to have carried out, he remains an American citizen with all the rights that come with the status. Also keep in mind that, in this country, we are all innocent until proven guilty.
For Senator Graham to spend the past few weeks arguing that background checks for terrorists, criminals or anyone else who want to purchase a gun at a gun show violates the Second Amendment to our Constitution only to turn around and seek to strip an American citizen of his constitutional due process rights is nothing short of the epitome of hypocrisy and beyond abhorrent. - Forbes, 4/19/13
But what do you expect from the guy who admitted that bashing Obama makes good politics:
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/...
But he conceded that going after Obama does yield a political benefit in his crimson red state.
“Anytime you challenge the president, Obama, it’s good politics,” Graham said, while noting that he was also critical of former President George W. Bush. - TPM, 4/2/13
By the way, Graham has both a challenger from the right and a Democratic opponent for 2014. On the right is businessman Richard Cash (R):
http://www.fitsnews.com/...
Richard Cash – a socially conservative small business owner from Powdersville, S.C. – is the latest Republican to announce that he’s running against U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham in 2014.
“I am running to replace Senator Lindsey Graham because I believe that after 20 years in Washington he is out of touch with South Carolina values and voters,” Cash writes on his website. “Although Senator Graham might be hard-working and sincere, I cannot distinguish his core principles and can no longer trust his judgment. It is time for a new voice in Washington. We need a voice that represents Christian, conservative, and Republican principles instead of the latest bi-partisan ‘deal’ that simply makes matters worse.”
Wait … Cash can’t distinguish Graham’s core principles? What part of fiscal liberalism, crony capitalism and war mongering does he not understand?
Anyway …
Cash is no stranger to campaigning. In fact he narrowly edged U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan in the GOP primary for the South Carolina third congressional district in 2010 only to lose to Duncan by three points in the Republican runoff two weeks later.
“I know how to run, I know how to fight, and I am ready to go,” Cash says. - Fit News, 4/16/13
And on team blue, businessman Jay Stamper (D. SC):
http://www.jaystamper.com/
South Carolina Democrat Will Run for Senate Seat Held by Lindsey Graham
Columbia, S.C. - On Tuesday, March 26th, Businessman Jeremy M. “Jay” Stamper will announce his candidacy for the Democratic nomination in 2014 to represent South Carolina in the United States Senate. Stamper is making his first run for public office.
“Too many South Carolinians are unemployed or underemployed and struggling to keep up with the rising costs of healthcare and education,” said Stamper. “I’m running because someone needs to stand up to the politicians in Washington D.C. who would rather invest in nation-building overseas than nation-building right here in the United States. Our strength as a country depends on the strength of our economy and that means investing in education, infrastructure and research to create jobs here at home.”
Although South Carolina hasn’t been represented by a Democratic Senator since 2005, Stamper is convinced that South Carolinians are ready for a change.
“2014 is shaping up to be ‘The Year of the Democrat’ in South Carolina,” said Stamper. “For a long list of reasons, Democrats have a real chance to be competitive on a statewide basis.”
A resident of Columbia, South Carolina, Jay earned his undergraduate degree in Government from Connecticut College. After graduating, Stamper joined Operation Outreach USA, a non-profit literacy organization and later led marketing initiatives at start-up airline Pro Air. In 2002, Jay founded The Delaware Company, a business filing company offering online incorporation services nationwide, which he later sold. Jay is currently Managing Director of the Palmetto Regional Center Corporation, a non-profit that seeks to promote job creation in high unemployment areas of South Carolina. Jay and his wife also contribute their time to a number of other non-profit organizations. - 3/26/13
With Graham fighting for his life, Mark Sanford making an ass of himself and throwing away the special election to Elizabeth Colbert Busch and Nikki Haley facing a serious rematch with State Senator Vincent Sheheen (D. SC), South Carolina is the political hot spot for both 2013 and 2014. Sanford is a sure loser and Haley can be beaten. Graham on the other hand, that's one case that time will tell.