Graham violates Reagans 11th Commandment/caption
Conservative icon President Ronald Reagan has a famous Eleventh Commandment that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) foolishly disregards to hisand the GOPspolitical peril. It is thus: Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican. Yet for the enticing glow of a TV cameraand the gotcha questions of a liberal interviewerhe will say just about anything:
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is wrong. These kids are not taking jobs from American citizens theyre part of our country."
By any legal definition citizens make up America; this is true of every sovereign nation on earth. As Sen. Graham received his J.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1981 one would assume he comprehends the distinction. After all the law is unambiguous: either one resides stateside legitimately or not.
Only one who slept through law school could possibly take the position that AG Sessions is incorrect regarding the Dreamers." Specifically Barack Obamas June 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) was an overreaching executive order. Such rule breaking is the purvey of emperors or would-be kings: never any Constitution-respecting U.S. president (like Trump). In fact Mr. Graham should be incensed that his lawmaking role had been so roguishly usurped by DACA: not defending the undeserving recipients of this ultra-constitutional farce.
Given Mr. Grahams inexplicable attitude isnt it disconcerting that this senior senator has been a member of Congress for more than two decades? In all that time why hasnt his ilk resolved the illegal migration problem? Moreover rather then taking Mr. Obama to task for creating this immigration mess Mr. Graham publicly criticizes a member of his own party for following the spirit and the letter of the law?
Why do so many prominent Republicans like he John McCain (R-AZ) and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)indigenous Washington swamp" creatures one and alldefend their do-nothing status quo? At every turn it seems they offer nothing more than full-throated excuses such as laughably McConnells:
Our new president of course has not been in this line of work before and I think had excessive expectations about how quickly things happen in the Democratic process."
Therefore one can understand why the can-do attitude of a results-driven private sector capitalist would challenge the bureaucratic intricacies of government that lifelong politicians hide behind. Consequently a main reason why President Trump was elected: to shake things up" that badly need it! Insanely these RINOs (Republicans In Name Only) undermine him and the agenda that heand theywere elected upon! Why are they indistinguishable from their truth afflicted Democratic counterparts?
Once again Mr. Graham is mistaken when he as Democrats blithely claims that Dreamers" are not siphoning resourcesand opportunitiesthat should be reserved for U.S. citizens. Indeed how can this leader" ignore the negative impacts of the undocumented? One telling example is taxpayer funded public school education. Per the National Center for Educational Statistics:
Total expenditures for public elementary and secondary schools in the United States in 201314 amounted to $634 billion or $12509 per public school student enrolled in the fall (in constant 201516 dollars)."
For context per Pew Center statistics some 11 million illegals reside in the United States. Of those approximately 17 are under the age of 18. As a typical pre-college education is twelve years at $12509 per year for 1870000 illegals amounts to: $280701960000! Furthermore related to employment Pew Hispanic Center puts the number of illegal aliens in the workforce at 8 million. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the median wage for full time workers in the United States in the final quarter of 2016 was $44148 per year. That amounts to $353184000000 in lost citizens wages. Hows that not taking by foreign squatters from the fiscally abused taxpayers who also pay Lindsey Grahams yearly salary of $174000? Is he just insulated or completely obtuse?
After more than seven and a half months of GOP inaction and broken promises (read: Obamacare repeal) whats clear is that RINOs as he care nothing about their ill-used constituents. You know the voters who elevated his kind to majorities in Congress. So why the utter disconnect by the upper echelon of the Republican Party?
It turns out these folks have a political syndrome akin to Jan Bradys Marcia envy. For those unfamiliar with the sitcom The Brady Bunch" (1969-1974) Jan was her familys insecure loner the often marginalized middle child to her popular paragon of an older sister. Beautiful and talented Marcia naturally attracted attention overshadowing her inferior sibling. Like Jan RINOs desperately want to be likedabove all else! Ironically by the Trump-hating liberal clique that is the MSM. However the press is populated by propagandist mean girls" unwilling to lavish the same slavish devotion they habitually bestow on Democrats. Hence RINOs utter soft milquetoast phrases as exemplified above mimicking progressive perspectives. Specifically that Lindsey Graham wrongly sees the offspring of lawbreakers as part of our societal fabric is inconsistent with immigration lawand the will of American patriots. How then can he also support funding Trumps southern border wall?
To play both sides of an issue by subtly panderingto go as the political winds dictatetypifies gelatinous RINOs and polarizing liberals. Thanks to ongoing media spin the electorate is likely to ignore Democrats many untruths but they will expose the GOPs lack of legislative accomplishments. At this rate Mr. Graham will likely find himself and his party consigned to the minority after the 2018 midterm elections. Meanwhile the debt keeps growing; the Obamacare repeal failed (by RINO John McCains deciding vote); tax reform is uncertain; and the voters have lost faith in clearly feckless Congressional Republicans. Rather than embracing the daily opportunities to follow Trumps lead this fork-tongued backbencher will find himself returned there.
Still a cushy office a six-figure salary and the trappings of power are nice booby prizes. Thats certainly enough to build the flagging self-esteem of the Jan Bradys of the world anyway. But if Sen. Graham wants to truly be a winnerlike Marcia Brady Donald Trump and Ronald Reaganhe needs to relentlessly champion conservatism via the priorities set forth by this president forthwith. To that end focusing on the concerns of his fellow citizensrather than parroting the bleeding heart narratives of the leftwould be a vast improvement. In the final analysis being an ineffectual RINO fosters scorn and mistrust from every corner. It guarantees failure: no matter which side Lindsey Graham finds himself on.
David L. Hunter is an Associate Editor at Capitol Hill Outsider. Hes on Twitter and blogs at davidlhunter.blogspot.com. He is published in The Washington Post The Washington Times FrontPage Mag and extensively in Patriot Post Canada Free Press and American Thinker.