Sen. Graham threatens to hold up nominations because his earmark got cut from budget

[SgtMeowenstein]

Republican senator, Lindsey Graham, threw a fit and threatened to hold up nominations because an earmark he supported got cut in the recent federal budget deal. This is funny on a couple of levels.

First, a Lindsey Graham fit is always funny. Second, in his fit throwing, he let it slip that he, at least, believes that gov't can create private sector jobs. Well, doesn't that go against what the GOP is trying to sell - that gov't doesn't create jobs? Then, of course, there's the whole earmark hypocrisy thing going on here.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/14/lindsey-graham-has-meltdown_n_849326.html

Lindsey Graham has styled himself as the Senate's great dealmaker -- the guy who will shepherd your measure through the partisan thicket and make sure it passes. All you have to do is do everything precisely the way Graham imagines it needs to be done, and you'll be fine. But the moment you hit one of his cryptic procedural tripwires -- ones you often didn’t know were laid in the first place -- Graham goes into full-on snit-fit mode, and vows to use whatever means at his disposal to shut the whole process down.

He's doing it again over the budget deal that was wrought April 8, because it cut an allocation that was to be used to fund an Army Corps of Engineers project that would have deepened the Port of Charleston. As Susan Crabtree at Talking Points Memo reports:

Graham started a string of angry tweets about the omission early Tuesday. By the end of the day, he had held a press conference on the issue in Charleston, S.C., and was blaming the Obama administration for failing to include the funding in its budget proposal released in February, arguing that 260,000 jobs are tied to the port.
"Obama Admin made a bad mistake not putting money for CHS port in their budget proposal," he wrote.
"No nominations go forward in Senate until we address CHS port," he tweeted, noting that the provision was not an earmark and applied to a dozen ports across the U.S.

That's right. Graham was seemingly happy to participate in the wide-ranging debate on the need to drastically reduce spending, until the scalpel fell on something he wanted. And now, he's going to hold up future nominations until he gets his way.

By the way, as Crabtree's colleague Benjy Sarlin points out: now Lindsey Graham wants to argue that government spending creates jobs?

"If you're a Republican and you want to create jobs, then you need to invest in infrastructure that will allow us to create jobs," he said at a press conference with Sens. Rand Paul and Mike Lee on Social Security in response to a question from TPM. "Congress, Republicans and Democrats, talk about creating jobs. How can you create jobs by shutting a port down that 260,000 people depend on?"

In assailing everyone for cutting his port money -- the lone example of worthy government spending and the government's last best hope, apparently, at creating a single private sector job -- Graham has gotten it into his head that he has the full support of his South Carolina Senate colleague Jim Demint (R). Graham told reporters that "Jim's been helpful," and that "DeMint 'absolutely' supported the project to deepen the port."

None of that is remotely true. DeMint opposes the project, because it is an earmark and Jim DeMint hates earmarks, up to and including this one, which he personally killed.

 

[uscitizen]

Why are the right wingers so blind to their hypocricsy?

 

[SgtMeowenstein]

Why are the right wingers so blind to their hypocricsy?

Honestly, I don't think they care. All we can do is point it out. Their sheep will, of course, blindly follow them over the cliff.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

Don't look at me. I didn't vote for that ass clown.

 

[Trajan]

Why are the right wingers so blind to their hypocricsy?

why yes its been a whole 15 minutes....

I am outraged!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

there? better?

 

[del]

i'm shocked.

shocked, i tell you.

 

[Trajan]

touche'

 

[Stephanie]

well fer sure if the Huffingtonpost says it's TRUE, then it damn sure MUST BE.

 

[Wry Catcher]

Too funny. Not the hypocrisy part, the reaction by USMB members. Of that I'm not shocked.

 

[The T]

Lindsey Grahamnesty is a RINO...

Anyone surprised?

 

[edthecynic]

Lindsey Grahamnesty is a RINO...

Anyone surprised?

All CON$ervatives are RINOs when convenient!

Anyone surprised?

 

[The T]

Lindsey Grahamnesty is a RINO...

Anyone surprised?

All CON$ervatives are RINOs when convenient!

Anyone surprised?

NO...they aren't You learned ZERO from 11/2/2010...

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Why are the right wingers so blind to their hypocricsy?

Honestly, I don't think they care. All we can do is point it out. Their sheep will, of course, blindly follow them over the cliff.

Let me see if I can put this in perspective for you.

Graham is a Republican that rarely agrees with me. The fact that he does not always agree with the Republican party doesn't surprise me because he happens to actually be a human, not a robot. You cannot call him out for hypocrisy just because he does not agree with other people about everything.

Show me where he said one thing, and does another, which should not be that hard considering the fact that he happens to be a politician, and I will agree with you that he is a hypocrite. Pointing at this and calling it hypocrisy just makes you look petty and stupid.

Oh, it also makes you a hypocritical partisan hack because I would have no problem finding dozens of examples of Democrats who disagree with the Democratic Party about various things.

 

[Jackson]

Lindsey Graham 'optimistic' on port
Senator backs off threat to hold up nominations, but wants more progress

Sen. Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, said the Charleston port is the “most needy” of 12 seeking federal help for dredging and other activities, and he pledged support to find funding before the end of this fiscal year.

Reid, the most powerful Democrat in Congress, agreed with Graham that the Army Corps should fund harbor projects based on merit.

DeMint said he has offered “substantive reforms” that would clear a backlog of more than 1,000 earmarks “that currently overwhelms the Corps of Engineers.”

He also would create a nonpartisan commission “to ensure meritorious projects are funded, and give states more control over the port taxes they collect and greater ability to privately fund critical projects,” DeMint said.

Lindsey Graham 'optimistic' on port | greenvilleonline.com | The Greenville News

 

[The T]

Lindsey Graham 'optimistic' on port
Senator backs off threat to hold up nominations, but wants more progress

Sen. Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, said the Charleston port is the “most needy” of 12 seeking federal help for dredging and other activities, and he pledged support to find funding before the end of this fiscal year.

Reid, the most powerful Democrat in Congress, agreed with Graham that the Army Corps should fund harbor projects based on merit.

DeMint said he has offered “substantive reforms” that would clear a backlog of more than 1,000 earmarks “that currently overwhelms the Corps of Engineers.”

He also would create a nonpartisan commission “to ensure meritorious projects are funded, and give states more control over the port taxes they collect and greater ability to privately fund critical projects,” DeMint said.

Lindsey Graham 'optimistic' on port | greenvilleonline.com | The Greenville News

REID, Graham, and non Partisan commision should be enough...eh?

The former two are ONE in the SAME.

 

[blu]

its been a hilarious week

paul ryan complaining about voting for unfunded bills and now lindsay graham pushing for earmarks

LOL

 

[The T]

Lindsay Grahamnesty is a *IDIOT*

 

[Oddball]

Graham has been a squishy sellout from day one...Exactly the kind of douchebag that made me swear off voting for repubs back in '95.

So, this is supposed to bring the house down from the shock waves?

Pffffft!

 

[Dot Com]

Why are the right wingers so blind to their hypocricsy?

Honestly, I don't think they care. All we can do is point it out. Their sheep will, of course, blindly follow them over the cliff.

They don't mind the hypocrisy, only when it gets brought to their attn by librals

 

[hortysir]

Why are the right wingers so blind to their hypocricsy?

I, for one, am not.
Graham is just a career politician on the dole.

I had to raise my hand at our congressman's most recent town hall.
He'd made the remark that he'd secured funding, through an earmark, for our county's sheriff's office.
"That's part of my job. To take care of the people of my state", he had the balls to say.
I told him, "With all due respect, congressman, that's NOT your job. Your job is to make laws. Where is it the federal gov't's job to fund our local jail?"

That's precisely the mind-set alot of these politicians.
They think they have to nanny us.

How is deepening a port a responsibility of the FD?