Anyone who follows American politics KNOWS that South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham is a solid conservative.
Graham tends to be critical of President Obama on most issues; was one of the leaders of the fight to impeach Bill Clinton in 1998, while a member of the House of Representatives; and is always a strong supporter of defense and foreign interventions, as is his good friend, John McCain.
But that is precisely the problem he faces now in the upcoming battle for the Senate nomination of his party for a third term election in 2014. That is, he SOMETIMES agrees with the President; is TOO GOOD a friend of John McCain, seen by many conservatives as not conservative enough; and infuriates those who are isolationist and non interventionist in the libertarian movement led by Rand Paul and Ted Cruz.
So therefore, Graham is labeled not acceptable to the Tea Party whackos who want to defeat him and put someone more right wing than he is in the Senate! Graham also has the gall to support immigration reform, and support the President on civil liberties policies..
So we have South Carolina State Senator Lee Bright taking on Graham, and this Tea Party activist has gone off the deep end, and demonstrated total insanity in his assertions that Graham is a “Community organizer” for the Muslim Brotherhood!
Think of how crazy and looney that assertion by Bright is, and it is clear that Bright is far from “bright”!
First, Graham Is NOT a community organizer, while Barack Obama was, but somehow these right wing nuts think anyone who helps poor people in urban neighborhoods is, somehow, not legitimate. Apparently, only if someone is involved in the corporate world and makes tons of profit and steps all over workers and consumers, is a person worth anything!
This is a very sick, twisted way of looking at fellow human beings, wishing to do nothing to help those less fortunate, and yet, one can be sure that Bright think of himself as a “good Christian”, which he most certainly is not, as if he examines the life of Jesus Christ, what does he think Jesus was?—A COMMUNITY ORGANIZER!
And to say that Lindsey Graham is working for the Muslim Brotherhood, when Graham is one of the most outspoken critics of that Middle Eastern group, makes Lee Bright certifiable to be committed for a mental examination as to his sanity! It is a totally preposterous idea, but just as much to say that Barack Obama is a Muslim or a supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood, when Obama has been responsible for the death of more Islamic terrorists and, sadly, some innocent bystanders, than George W. Bush did in his eight years in the White House!
As one observes the total lunatic nature of the Tea Party Movement, one realizes that there is a serious mental illness prevalent among people who claim to follow Christianity, but have no clue as to the teachings of their Lord and Savior!
The only blessing for Graham is that Bright is only one of three primary opponents, all nuts and looney, and that should help him to gain the nomination for a third term, by the division of votes among his opponents!
An amendment establishing term limits for members of Congress:


SECTION 1: No person may serve more than twelve years as a member of Congress, whether such service is exclusively in the House or the Senate or combined in both Houses.
SECTION 2: Upon ratification of this Article, any incumbent member of Congress whose term exceeds the twelve-year limit shall complete the current term, but thereafter shall be ineligible for further service as a member of Congress.
Problem solved.
An Amendment to Restore the Senate to the States.
SECTION 1: The Seventeenth Amendment is hereby repealed. All Senators shall be chosen by their state legislatures as prescribed by Article 1.
Hooray! Rob Juan is back from vacation to give us our daily lulz!
Robert, I will break my pledge not to respond to you, as you are totally nuts.
Do you realize that a constitutional amendment requires a two thirds vote of the House and a two thirds votes of the Senate, and there is no way that will EVER happen on this proposal, anymore than the Electoral College being abolished? I know you say the supporters of this crazy amendment would use it against those members of Congress who do not support this amendment, but to believe that most of these members would be defeated by their constituents would mean that you are delusional. Sure, some would be, but not most.
Plus would you like to be forced out of your career after 12 years, just for turnover purposes, losing all of the expertise, knowledge base, and skills gained in those twelve years? If a person is good, then he or she should be able to gain the support of his or her constituents to stay on, and we have had many members of both houses who had brilliant careers, and have contributed a great deal, who would have been lost with such a stupid requirement as a 12 year limit.
What should happen is prevent what the Supreme Court did in 2010 with the Citizens United case. No corporation, labor union, or any special interest group should be able to manipulate and distort who gets nominated and elected by their funding millions of dollars into campaigns, and instead, there should be public financing and requirements of equal time on radio and television at no cost as a public service, and then we would get intelligent, good public servants who would have the opportunity to serve and do a good job, without an automatic term limit.
And to wish that the 17th Amendment be repealed is totally asinine, as the state legislatures are notoriously much more corrupt and incompetent than our national Congress, and the PEOPLE should have the vote, not crooked and manipulative politicians backed up by corporations, labor unions, and other special interests!
You are showing, Robert, that you are Juan Domingo Peron under a different name, and if that is not the case, then indeed we have two right wing extremists who live in their own delusional world, who have written on this blog. And you are flirting with being blocked from your purposeful attempt to cause chaos and anarchy, and I am giving you fair warning of my willingness to prevent future contributions if you insist on provocative behavior, and my other readers and contributors would back me up in that regard. So you are treading on shifting ground, Robert!
Ronald, please read article 5 of the Constitution. There are two ways of ammending the Constitution. The second way bypasses the federal government, that is the federal Congress. It is the safety clause that James Mason insisted it be included in case the federal government got out of control, like millions of americans believe it has nowadays. So Congress , the beltway is excluded from this process. It is reserved to the states legislatures.
Stop talking down to me, Robert! 🙁
I am well aware of Amendment 5–and know that IF two thirds of the states’ legislatures call for a convention, it would be held, but that has never happened, and the time limit to reach 34 states is unclear.
Besides, you tell me how the East Coast and West Coast states are going to agree to the Senate being returned to corrupt state legislatures. Just as the Democrats have the edge in the Electoral College for the long run, there are more than 17 states that would NEVER agree to a convention that would be controlled by Tea Party whackos! And these states opposed to such a convention include the vast majority of the population, while the Tea Party whackos are focused in the “great heartland” in total square miles, but not the people! The American people at large do NOT want a Senate controlled by corrupt corporate interests! The state legislatures in most states are a total disgrace, very anti democratic!
Dream on if you wish, but this is NOT happening in your lifetime or mine!
I’m not talking down on you. It’s just that you mentioned only the federal Congress participating in the amendment process. As for the Senate they are already controlled by Washington lobbyist. Look, I’m not saying this will happen now, it will take years. But I am just jnforming you that the process has begun. Kasich for example already called for this in Ohio. Eventually when the economies of the blue states stsrt collapsing going the Detroit route but at state level, they will turn red. Eventually also.when the burden of the federal government debt and unfunded liability falls upon all of us, we will be in place to take the country back to being a Federal Republic. Progressives took 100 hundred years to take us to this collapse of the Republic and the destruction of federalismand the division of power. We are just starting the path to restoring the Constitution.
Professor..don’t waste you time on this troll’s ignorance. If is not a lie it’s stupidly based on Teabagger lack of any education.
You can go into the blog site manager window and just remove, erase, delete, and comment he makes. It is very easy.
Engineer, I am thinking of doing just that, LOL! But I am also very tolerant, and not quite yet ready to do that, because I am a nice guy LOL, although, understand, I am NOT saying that you, Engineer, are not a nice guy LOL hahaha!
Robert, do you realize that John Kasich is part of the problem, that he is part of the “Beltway”, having done damage there, and now destroying Ohio, and promoting division, prejudice against minorities and women, and hate?
It is not the “Beltway” per se, but the extremists on the right who are setting out to destroy this nation, and in that sense, are terrorists against the interests of the vast majority of the American people!
Again? Agression. Why? Because I dissent and believe differently. And if I respond, then I am the aggressor. So much for tolerance. It’s curious how the defendants the of status quo inside the beptway, whether they be Democrats or Republican get furious at he thought of amendments via state legislatures.
No, Robert, not aggression, just frustration that you do not “get it”, that the state legislatures are NOT paragons of virtue, and the alternative amendment process will NOT happen, and would set us back nationally if it occurred. There is no panacea, and if there would be acceptance of the need for national government in a nation of 315 million people, not a nation of 4 million as in 1790, then we would march along together toward better government! It is people like you which are the problem, not “us” progressives and liberals, and even “moderates”!
Professor,
Rob Juan will never, ever get it.
I suspect you are correct, Jane Doe! LOL
Are you saying the federal congress is virtous? Really? Listen I am not saying that state legislatures are better or worse. All I am saying is this. State legislatures and local government are held more accountable than the federal officials. Also , do you not believe in federalism? No one is talking about eliminating the federal government, but of restoring federalism. Now if you do not like federalism, as by your contempt for state government seems to show, why don’t you propose eliminating federalism? I think I know the answer. Because it has practically been done already! Also it funny that you accuse me of believing in a panacea when it is liberals who believe the federal government is the panacea and can resolve all our problems from here to eternity! So please do not take my position of restoring federalism to a certain degree to the extreme of eliminating the federal government. Please do not put words in my mouth.
The federal government is not totally virtuous, but has a far better record of caring about our citizens than most state governments. Look at what “red” states are doing to harm the masses of people, middle class and poor, who are not wealthy! We need reform at all levels, but I will always trust the federal government more, while not wishing to get rid of the state and local governments, but put controls on their misbehavior, when it takes away the rights of the people!
Say what you will about Sen. Graham, he’s a good legislator. He’s only considered a RINO because he didn’t vote against Obama’s SCOTUS nominees and because he supported immigration reform. The latter costing him his impressive 72% approval rating, and sparking this ridiculously crowded primary.
Like you said, it takes gall to do what he did and this is the sad price. It’ll be bad for Democrats and Republicans if he doesn’t win nomination; of course that supposes a lack of decent Democratic challengers.
Harm to the “masses” ? Since when are the american people masses? What harm are you talking about? Do you mean black unemployment that soared during the Obama administration? Are you talking about youth and women unemployment that also is soaring? So let me get this clear , you trust anonymous bureaucratic federal officials who defacto legislate us with no accountability over state legislatures? Also , do you realize how arrogant you come through when you say “control their misbehavior?” See here is the key to the left’s mindset, they are so arrogant,judgemental and elitist that they actually believe the american people are like infants that need to be educated according to their leftist liberal views and controlled throughtout their lives because people cannot survive without the leftist liberal controlled government and its dependance producing centralized plans. It’s amazing how you actually do not realize this.
Robert, I am talking about the state legislatures’ misbehavior, which is what exists, not the people that are victimized by them!
Sammy, if Graham wins the GOP nomination in South Carolina, he wins. If the other choices, all moronic and anarchistic in nature, win, the Democrats will win the state, and if they don’t, we have another Jim DeMint, but crazier and more looney than even he is as head of the Heritage Foundation!
State legislators misbehavior? You mean California’s almost $1 trillion debt? Or the NY, Illinois and other high taxed blue states on the verge of fiscal armageddon? So, state legislators misbehaviors you say? Again, how arrogant.
I had posted this here before. Looks like the perfect conversation to repost it in:
Regressive Republicans have managed to accomplish something they only dreamed of when Tea Partiers streamed into Congress at the start of 2011: They’ve basically shut Congress down. Gridlock is working just as they hoped: No jobs agenda. No budget. No grand bargain on the deficit. No background checks on guns. Nothing on climate change. No tax reform. No hike in the minimum wage. Nothing so far on immigration reform. It’s as if an entire branch of the federal government — the branch that’s supposed to deal directly with the nation’s problems, not just execute the law or interpret the law but make the law — had gone out of business, leaving behind only a so-called “sequester” that’s cutting deeper and deeper into education, infrastructure, programs for the nation’s poor, and national defense.
By default, more and more of the nation’s work is shifting to state governments — some of which are moving to the right (restricting abortions and rejecting gay marriage, cutting taxes and regulations, and gutting education and public services) or to the left (allowing gay marriage, expanding abortion rights, raising taxes and environmental regulations, and spending more on education and public services). Is this a workable solution to the deep divisions in the country right now? The answer to that is simple: absolutely not!
It is not misbehavior to deny people their basic rights, and to harm the middle class and the poor by denying them health care and a decent education? It is YOU, Robert, who are arrogant and uncaring!
Thanks again, Princess Leia, for your excellent statement, which tells it as it is!
Deny basic rights? Deny healthcare? What on earth sre you talking about? Please send link to any statr law that specifically denies “basic rights” to its citizens.
Robert, you are delusional and need help! Do you read the newspapers and watch news? Medicaid being denied in many states, even with federal payments for all of it, and restrictive voting rights passed within one month of the Supreme Court decision, curbing the Voting Rights Act, in North Carolina (the worst), Texas, and elsewhere! I will not discuss this with you any further, as you are purely ignorant, or maybe biased? Is there any difference at this point?
Show me the language where the North Carolina law restricts voting? Unless you are ok with non citizens voting. I don’t see the restriction. Did you ever read Justice Stevens leading opinion in Crawford v. Marion County Election Board? The government could not even produce one person who’s voting was restricted because of the photo ID requirement. You wouldn’t even be able to find 50 people in he whole country where the requirement of a photo ID qualifies as a substantial burden.
Details of the GOP war on voting: http://www.winningprogressive.org/the-gop-war-on-voting-continues
I think he’s both ignorant and biased, Professor.
Rustbelt Democrat, you are right on the mark, and I am getting tired of his bull, when it is clear that poor people will be hurt by fees, and college students and the elderly will be denied the right to vote in many states, and getting rid of early voting is a ploy to stop black churches from voting on Sunday. This is pure racism in the South, and he knows it, but is willing to justify it! Absolutely despicable!
Are college students incapable of getting a photo ID ??? Seriously? The first thing they get is a photo ID in college yet are they so stupid that they can’t get one in the state thay are going to study?? Are you also implying that blacks are so stupid and desintersted that they cannot find their way to the poll booth without the church guiding them? The SCOTUS will laugh at you if you try to make a case that this would be a substantial burden to voting. As a matter of fact it already ruled on the issue. Finally you really know how to insult minorities ,college students and any other so called democrat voter.You make them look like incapable morons.
No, Robert, college students will not be allowed to vote because they are not considered full time residents, and church groups like to go to the polls on the Sabbath, and will be denied that right. Also, it is clear that Republicans are out to limit the vote, create new barriers to what is a basic civil right, fought for for a century and more, and finally gained in 1965 by legislative action, and now curbed by a majority Republican Supreme Court which does not want to continue what has worked so well, because of their own agenda! Many of the Republican leaders in many states have bragged about their purpose, not even trying to hide it. You are the one insulting people, not me, by denying the basic human right to vote.
http://www.winningprogressive.org/the-gop-war-on-voting-continues
Getting an ID is not as simple as Rob Juan believes:
– As a recent report from the Brennan Center for Justice details, while 10% of Americans lack the photo IDs needed to vote in states with voter ID laws, 25% of African Americans, 16% of Latinos, and 18% of people over the age of 65 lack such IDs.
– In order to obtain a photo ID, you typically need a birth certificate. But many African Americans who were born in the South during Jim Crow were often never even issued a birth certificate.
– While states with voter ID laws typically provide an option for obtaining a free ID, states with photo ID laws charge between $8 and $25 for a copy of the birth certificate needed to obtain the ID.
– Obtaining a photo ID means at least one trip to the DMV, which can be burdensome if you are one of the millions of people in voter ID states who do not have access to a car and/or if you cannot afford to take time off from work. The difficulty of making a trip to the DMV without a car or with limited ability to take time off from work is heightened by the fact that many DMV offices have limited hours. For example, Alabama, Kansas, Mississippi, Texas, and Wisconsin have no DMV offices that are open on weekends.
– If you are living with family or friends because your house was recently foreclosed upon, or because you lost your job, etc. you are unlikely to have utility bills or other documents needed to prove your address for purposes of obtaining a photo ID.
– College students attending school from out-of-state are unlikely to have the documents needed to get a photo ID by the deadline, which is only a month or two after the college school year starts.
Hello Professor,
Rob Juan has been caught in many lies, inaccurate or just made up fact statements due to his ignorance, hence he brings no value to the discussion. It’s as simple as that.
Thanks, Jane Doe, for reminding us in detail how getting the necessary documents, and their cost, are onerous. And Engineer, I totally agree with you and are considering action, similar to Obama on Syria! LOL Just thinking it through before I take action! 🙂
Exactly right Jane Doe!
Also:
http://www.winningprogressive.org/the-gop-war-on-voting-continues
quote –
the claims of “voter fraud†that Republicans use as an excuse for voter ID laws are completely unfounded as Pennsylvania Republicans essentially admitted when they unsuccessfully attempted to defend their voter ID law in court last year.
unquote
And:
quote
In short, voter ID laws are little more than a blatant partisan power grab by the GOP instituted under the false pretense of “voter fraud†that, when push comes to shove, even the GOP admits does not occur.
unquote
Thanks, Princess Leia, for your further promotion of the facts, the truth, which some people have trouble dealing with and accepting, and would rather live in delusion and believing of lies!