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The downfall of Lindsay Graham


Pancho

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You would think all these fuckwits that were trying to uphold democracy and stop the biggest scandal in American history would be chomping at the bit to get in a courtroom and divulge everything they know.

These are strange actions for a group that is tasked with preserving the union.

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On 8/15/2022 at 4:23 PM, ChuckNorrisActionJeans said:

and this excuse by Graham that he was just using his investigatory function in the course of potentially legislating mail-in ballots/certifying the election and such is total, transparent horseshit

So, further to this, lil Lindsey ladybugs doubled down on the subpoena and contends that the whole thing is out of bounds under the Speech and Debate clause.  And there is an aspect of immunity to the thing, so he at least has a colorable argument that he shouldn't even have to submit to questioning if it implicates legislative action.  https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.gand.305825/gov.uscourts.gand.305825.40.1.pdf

Further, and this is interesting, lil Lindsey contends that it is Fulton County's burden to show that topics for questioning are outside the Speech and Debate Clause protection before any testimony takes place.  My sense is that that is a bridge too far.

Apparently, there are competing lines of authority from the Circuits on how far the Speech and Debate Clause goes in protecting "quasi-legislative" activity that occurs remote from the houses of congress.  See judge's order https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.gand.305825/gov.uscourts.gand.305825.38.0.pdf

Quote

The parties should also address whether informal investigative inquiries by individual members of Congress into issues that arguably fall within that  member’s legislative province constitute protected “legislative activity” under the Speech or Debate Clause, or, to the contrary, whether such protection extends only to investigative inquiries that originate from a more formal congressional source, such as an investigation authorized by a Senate subcommittee. Compare, e.g., Bastien v. Off. of Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, 390 F.3d 1301, 1316 (10th Cir. 2004) (“No Supreme Court opinion indicates that Speech or Debate Clause immunity extends to informal information gathering by individual members of Congress.”), with Gov’t of the Virgin Islands v. Lee, 775 F.2d 514, 521 (3d Cir. 1985) (“[F]act-finding occupies a position of sufficient importance in the legislative process to justify the protection afforded by legislative immunity.”).

She's sharp.  The 11th Circuit, not so much.

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  • 3 weeks later...

So now, after allowing SCOTUS to kick the ability to legislate abortion to the states, Sen Ladybugs wants to put a national law on the books banning abortion after 15 weeks.

https://www.npr.org/2022/09/13/1122700975/gop-sen-lindsey-graham-introduces-15-week-abortion-ban-in-the-senate

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Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has introduced a bill to create a federal ban on abortions at 15 weeks in an attempt to force Republicans to adopt a party-wide consensus on the issue.

The move comes as Democrats have turned abortion into a rallying cry following the Supreme Court decision in June to overturn Roe v. Wade. Polls have consistently shown that a majority of voters oppose the end of federal abortion protections.

Graham acknowledged at a press conference on Tuesday that the legislation has very little chance of becoming law in the near future, and that's not just because Democrats control Congress and the White House. The proposed legislation includes exceptions for rape, incest and the health of the mother but it has not received the backing of any GOP leaders.

The effort is at odds with the views of many federally elected Republicans who have said the issue of abortion should be left to the states. Graham himself said the issue should be left to the states before reversing his position with this legislation.

Graham told reporters that he has not spoken to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., about the bill. McConnell himself has largely avoided committing to any discussion of a federal abortion ban. In the days following the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe, a conservative victory decades in the making, McConnell explicitly downplayed the chances of such a ban ever being enacted.

"It takes 60 votes in the Senate for either side to prevail on this issue," McConnell said at an event in his home state of Kentucky. "So I think the democratic process on this issue is going to work out at the state level."

Democrats wasted no time trying to tie all Republicans to Graham's plan

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre released a statement reaffirming Democrats' pledge to restore federal protections for abortion rights.

"Republicans in Congress are focused on taking rights away from millions of women," Jean-Pierre said. "The President and Vice President are fighting for progress, while Republicans are fighting to take us back."

Democrats have warned for months that Republicans would move ahead with a federal abortion ban if they win back control in Washington--a message that has helped drive an increase in voter registration among women in several states.

More women are registering to vote. How could that affect midterms?

The dynamic is particularly difficult for Republican candidates in places that aren't GOP strongholds, like Joe O'Dea who is running for Senate in Colorado. In a recent interview with NPR, O'Dea said he does not plan to support a federal abortion ban.

"I believe, the first five months, the mother has the choice," O'Dea said. "After that, there should be some exceptions rape, incest, life of the mother. Those should be exceptions. And I'll vote that way and I've been consistent about it."

But Graham said he thinks a federal abortion ban should be part of the campaign process and he wants his bill to represent the consensus view of the majority of groups opposing abortion rights.

"We are trying to basically normalize America here," Graham said. "If we stay on this and keep talking about it maybe in a decade this will be law."

 

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I realize that this is merely some weird, misguided attempt to try and win back some of the voters they have lost, but "Republicans propose nationwide abortion ban" is a fucking insane gift of a headline to provide to the other side this late in the game.

Edited by Chuckie Finster
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48 minutes ago, Chuckie Finster said:

I realize that this is merely some weird, misguided attempt to try and win back some of the voters they have lost, but "Republicans propose nationwide abortion ban" is a fucking insane gift of a headline to provide to the other side this late in the game.

 

43 minutes ago, bluto said:

Ya that seems like ladybug is a dem operative

 

 

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1 hour ago, Chuckie Finster said:

I realize that this is merely some weird, misguided attempt to try and win back some of the voters they have lost, but "Republicans propose nationwide abortion ban" is a fucking insane gift of a headline to provide to the other side this late in the game.

Hadn't considered that angle.

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You know, as much as we talk about how incompetent our party is at . . . you know--politics, it's amazing that the Republicans are actually even fucking worse at it.

This really is amazing.  I can't imagine what would possess Graham to put the worst issue back front-and-center just weeks before early voting begins.

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18 minutes ago, Ghost of LL said:

You know, as much as we talk about how incompetent our party is at . . . you know--politics, it's amazing that the Republicans are actually even fucking worse at it.

This really is amazing.  I can't imagine what would possess Graham to put the worst issue back front-and-center just weeks before early voting begins.

They're only "better" at politics because they have no shame and will break centuries old political norms without thinking twice.

Oh and their base is brainwashed by a foreign-owned corporation

 

 

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1 hour ago, Ghost of LL said:

You know, as much as we talk about how incompetent our party is at . . . you know--politics, it's amazing that the Republicans are actually even fucking worse at it.

This really is amazing.  I can't imagine what would possess Graham to put the worst issue back front-and-center just weeks before early voting begins.

They're all trapped in the right wing ecosystem and have bought into their own propaganda.

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Little update on his case with the Fulton County Grand Jury.

Recall that the federal district judge said "all you asked for was to quash the entire subpoena, I'm not granting that."

He appealed to the very Trumpy 11th Circuit, who ordered the district judge to consider only "partially" quashing the subpoena, as to certain topics of questioning.  She did so, and forbade the GJ from asking questions about the calls to Raffensperger, which Graham claims were legislative in nature.

Now it's going back up to the 11th.

I'm sure the grand jury can get or has gotten the substance of those phone calls from Raffensperger.  I'm not sure why that wasn't offered as proof that they were not legislative in nature.  They still might not be permitted to ask him about them because of the weirdness of the Speech & Debate clause.  But I think he's going to be forced to testify.

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19 hours ago, Chuckie Finster said:

I realize that this is merely some weird, misguided attempt to try and win back some of the voters they have lost, but "Republicans propose nationwide abortion ban" is a fucking insane gift of a headline to provide to the other side this late in the game.

19 hours ago, bluto said:

Ya that seems like ladybug is a dem operative

17 hours ago, Chad Fuck said:

And my phone is blowing up with Dems fundraising off of it.  The GOP is really the dog that caught the car with abortion.

17 hours ago, Ghost of LL said:

This really is amazing.  I can't imagine what would possess Graham to put the worst issue back front-and-center just weeks before early voting begins.

If I had George Soros money, I’d be bribing/blackmaling people like Graham into doing stuff like this so that Democrats can fundraise off of it and get people (women) and independents to the polls.

Or I’d be on the run across several South American countries for having killed a neighbor that annoyed the shit out of me.

Not a lot of middle ground if I had that kind of money, either fucking with Republicans or on the run in South America.

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48 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

If I had George Soros money, I’d be bribing/blackmaling people like Graham into doing stuff like this so that Democrats can fundraise off of it and get people (women) and independents to the polls.

Or I’d be on the run across several South American countries for having killed a neighbor that annoyed the shit out of me.

Not a lot of middle ground if I had that kind of money, either fucking with Republicans or on the run in South America.

The McAfee route, eh?  

 

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If I had George Soros money, I’d be bribing/blackmaling people like Graham into doing stuff like this so that Democrats can fundraise off of it and get people (women) and independents to the polls.
Or I’d be on the run across several South American countries for having killed a neighbor that annoyed the shit out of me.
Not a lot of middle ground if I had that kind of money, either fucking with Republicans or on the run in South America.

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Just a sorry man:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/9/16/2123271/--A-lying-motherf-er-In-private-Lindsey-Graham-told-truth-about-Trump-In-public-not-so-much?detail=emaildkre&pm_source=DKRE&pm_medium=email

In their upcoming book The Divider: Trump in the White House 2017-2021, authors Peter Baker and Susan Glasser recall how they met with Mr Graham outside a Washington DC steakhouse less than 48 hours after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced an impeachment inquiry into whether Mr Trump had extorted the president of Ukraine in a now-infamous July 2019 phone call. The Independent obtained a copy ahead of its 20 September publication date.

Standing on the sidewalk on 19th Street in Northwest Washington, Mr Graham bragged about his access to Mr Trump and told the husband-and-wife author duo about Mr Trump’s boasts regarding his closeness with evangelical pastors who’d met with him the day before. He said Mr Trump had told him: “Those f***ing Christians love me.”

“Those fucking Christians love me” is one of the Trumpiest quotes I’ve ever read, honestly. I’m sure he uttered that without the barest whiff of irony.

RELATED: As white nationalists, Jan. 6 extremists embrace Christian nationalism, even darker forces revive

Of course, Graham, who voted against convicting Trump in our fugazi führer’s first impeachment trial, nevertheless admitted to the authors that he knew who Trump really was:

“He’s a lying motherf***er,” Mr Graham said, adding the caveat that Mr Trump was also “a lot of fun to hang out with.
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1 minute ago, Satchel said:

“Those fucking Christians love me” is one of the Trumpiest quotes I’ve ever read, honestly. I’m sure he uttered that without the barest whiff of irony.

 

1 minute ago, Satchel said:

“He’s a lying motherf***er,” Mr Graham said, adding the caveat that Mr Trump was also “a lot of fun to hang out with.

These are the most depraved among us.

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