Lindsey Graham and the Politics of Climate and Immigration

Ezra Klein has an interview with Sen. Lindsey Graham that explores Graham’s opposition to moving on immigration legislation before tackling a climate bill. As the piece’s title quote suggests, to an extent Graham comes off like a parent trying not to offend either of his difficult children. But it’s a fairly candid Q & A, and one worth reading:

I’m playing pretty delicate politics here. I’m trying to let the business community and the Hispanic community know that I’m in. I ain’t going away. But while we’re trying to do this very hard thing that’s energy and climate, I can’t go down that road. I can’t be pressured down that road. If you go, I can’t go with you. Some supporters of immigration reform think I’ve abandoned them. But they’re not listening. This is just too far for me and for the issue this year.

Related Topics: Uncategorized
  • Latest on Swampland

    Pete Souza / The White House via Getty Images

    Political Picures of the Week, May 18-25

    TIME’s photo editors bring you the best pictures of the past week from the Beltway and beyond.

    Obama Administration Blocks Global Health Fund To Fight Disease In Developing NationsHuffPost Politics

    From left: AP; ABACAUSA

    The Phony War: Obama and Romney Are Debating Character, Not Policy

    More than five months from Election Day, the back-and-forth about Mitt Romney’s record at Bain already feels played out. Unfortunately, there’s good reason to expect the campaign continues in this vein indefinitely. Neither Barack Obama nor Mitt Romney are terribly interested in dwelling on policy platforms. Romney’s plan to slash spending and keep taxes low on the wealthy isn’t especially popular, at least not at any level of detail beyond a blithe promise to shrink the deficit. Meanwhile, Obama’s signature first-term achievements, like health care, the stimulus and Wall Street reform, are all unpopular or tricky to sell. (The Dodd-Frank bill is the most popular of these, but hyping it means offending wealthy donors.) So what we’re getting instead is a superficial duel about character–and, worse, one that’s based on the largely false premise that the better man can better “manage” the economy back to health.

  • Paul-no not that one

    “Graham comes off like a parent trying not to offend either of his difficult children.”
    .
    That’s certainly the current narrative.
    .
    First it was honest brokers Joe Lieberman and John McCain now it’s the always put upon and wronged Lindsey.
    .
    Actions might give a better read on who he is than listening to his words.

  • mredct

    Senator PittyPat can’t do two things at once?

    I love how this accepted at face value.

  • square1

    The people I hate the most are these “we need to do climate change, just be patient” types.

    As annoying as the “climate change is a hoax” Republicans are, at least their actions match their beliefs. If you don’t believe there is a problem, why would you be part of the solution?

    But, clearly, Lindsey Graham accepts the scientific evidence. He accepts that the release of carbon into our atmosphere, at the current trends, poses a threat to human civilization…he’s just doesn’t want to take any legislative action to correct the problem if it would upset his Senatorial comfort level. What a d-bag.

    It makes me want to hurl Graham into an Icelandic volcano.

    BTW, my disgust extends equally, if not more, to Democrats who let Republicans play these political games. For God’s sake, if you actually believe that time is running out to avoid catastrophic changes to the climate…how can you possibly f— around for another few years?

    Republicans will fight longer and with more tenacity for a .1% reduction in the capital gains tax than Democrats will to preserve life as we know it.

  • Dee in Columbia MD

    It just amazes me how often the media buys into the circular logic that the tea partiers have made so famous. Lindsay Graham is up in arms because he believes that Harry Reid has blindsided him so he could pander to his Hispanic constituents and the reason Reid should have not done so is because he should have known that Graham was already out on a limb politically doing climate change and immigration is a limb too far. Okay so let me make sure I’ve got this straight Graham is mad because supposedly Reid put his political pressure before Graham’s political pressure? Interesting! Not too mention the fact that if the GOP was so afraid of the immigration debate perhaps they shouldn’t have kicked over this particular hornets nest. The GOP decided to poke at it with Arizona law 1070 and now they are trying to make it even worse by instituting copy cat laws in Texas, Colorado, Utah etc. So if Graham wants to blame someone for putting immigration on the front burner he ought to look at his fellow Republicans and call it a day.

  • apr2563

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/29/lindsey-graham-took-big-m_n_556670.html
    Let’s be careful before we bestow the McCain, mavericky sainthood on Graham. The press is already touting him for the title. Remeber how well that turned out with McCain.

  • http://2thirdsrocks.wordpress.com 2thirdsrocks

    Man made climate change is the lie of the century. ANYONE who believes we can manipulate mother nature is a complete and utter fool! B.O and Al love you.

  • CP in FL

    2 pesos – So if we keep dumping billions of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere year after year we will have no effect on the environment? Also, I guess those millions of gallons of crude oil we are dumping into the Gulf of Mexico is having no effect. Here is a clue that the oil spill is affecting Mother Nature, you can smell the oil spill in Florida and we are already seeing dead birds as a result of this. Idiot!

  • apr2563

    If Obama came before the country with Jesus standing at his side and gave his blessing, right wingers all over the country would suddenly become atheists, accuse Christ of being a communist, and TPers would, at the instructions of Palin, Beck, and Limbaugh march on the nearest church demanding that it close.

  • http://erieangel.wordpress.com erieangel

    So, we can’t do immigration reform yet because…
    .
    and we can’t do climate change legislation yet because…
    .
    Graham’s name is all over both of these bills, or at least all over the beginnings of bills and now he is saying he can’t support either one topic if the other is addressed…
    .
    Or am I getting this wrong?

  • http://2thirdsrocks.wordpress.com 2thirdsrocks

    In your eyes Obama IS Jesus.

  • http://2thirdsrocks.wordpress.com 2thirdsrocks

    Stop breathing and lay off the beans CP. That should help. Fool!

  • broknbuddha

    You are a buffoon

  • 3xfire3

    square1.
    .
    ” The people I hate the Most”.
    .
    Can you not disagree with someone without hating them?
    Isn’t it possible to strongly disagree with a persons political views and not hate the person simply because you disagree with them politically? Do we all not have a right to have our own honest beliefs and views?
    .
    There is way too much hate on this Blog and it’s time we all cool it a little.

  • 3xfire3

    Apr,
    .
    Pretty bad post. You know better.

  • apr2563

    No 3x. It is exactly how I feel. There are people on this site who are liberal but feel comfortable criticizing Obama. I am one of them.
    .
    There are other people on this site and in the country that no matter what Obama did, even if they might agree with him would still villify him.
    .
    Did you know there is a Facebook site dedicated to praying for Obama’s death? It now has over 1 million friends praying for his demise. What kind of rhetoric encourages this kind of hatred? Where does it come from? Beck, Palin, Limbaugh and others daily spew their b.s., accusing “the others” of being unAmerican, unpatriotic, not real Americans, Socialists, etc. Do you honestly think this has no affect. Their megaphone is huge.
    .
    http://www.bluemassgroup.com/diary/19582/facebook-obama-death-prayer
    .
    I am not claiming this of all Reps and certainly not you 3x, but there are people like Freeper and Textee who have no limit to their disrespect and disregard of the President.

  • Art Pepper

    So Graham’s solution to climate change is to expand offshore drilling and keep the EPA from regulating carbon. Got it.

  • apr2563

    3x another example:
    http://www.salon.com/news/politics/barack_obama/index.html?story=/politics/feature/2010/04/23/snopes_rumors_obama_bush_open2010
    .
    I lived through the McCarthy, John Birch era and this is all too familiar except their is more outlets for the hate.

  • Art Pepper

    Yeah, basically you get to choose between Republicans, who don’t believe that science explains how the universe works; or Democrats, who accept the science but worry more about next November than they do about future generations.

  • 3xfire3

    Apr,
    .
    I agree that hate should not exist in our political system. Actually I strongly believe hate should not exist at all.
    .
    I believe you can adamantly disagree with a person’s action and that’s OK but hating the individual is wrong.
    .
    I would be more sympathetic to your above views if I had not seen [and it still continues] the same level of hate by people on the Left shown towards George Bush.
    .
    He received over 3,000 death threats a year during his 8 years as President. Democratic leaders and many people in the media made outrages comment about him personally, and accused him of everything under the sun. People on the left like you did not come to his defense but piled on with more accusations.
    .
    Even if a person truly believes the statements they are making about Obama or Bush are true, it is still wrong to hate them personally.
    .
    If you would notice, I never say hateful things about President Obama. I may strongly disagree with his policies and his world views but I don’t say hateful things about him.
    .
    Almost all Liberals on this site regularly say hateful things about people they disagree with politically. An example is post 3 above.
    .
    A few people on the right posting here say hateful things but most do not. Hate seems to be more of a Liberal trait more than it is a Conservative trait..

  • 3xfire3

    Can’t do immigration reform because Democrats are now concerned it might backfire and cause them even more problems than they already have in the November election.
    .
    But less blame the Republicans. That’s always a safe thing to do.

  • apr2563

    Wow 3x. Once again we have to disagree. Do you read New Rusty, Freeper, Textee, 2third rock among others? Everyday they come here with their theories about the “looney left”. I appreciate your contributions toward civility on this site but again, I have never seen such hate and invictive towards not just the President but his party since the McCarthy era where lives and careers were destroyed. And, when you join Fox with hate radio, the left has a weak source for response.

  • ohiolib

    3x-I’m not sure what your citing of death threats against Bush has to do with anything-unless, of course, you’re just trying to make a false equivalency between the hate levels between Bush and Obama. Hate to break it to you, but the threats against Obama have been far higher than under Bush.
    -
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/5967942/Barack-Obama-faces-30-death-threats-a-day-stretching-US-Secret-Service.html
    -
    Democratic leaders and many people in the media made outrages comment about him personally, and accused him of everything under the sun
    -
    And this strikes you as new? I don’t think anyone here would deny that there is an angry, less-than-sane left fringe. The difference is, the left fringe tends to stay at the fringe. The RW fringe-see 2/3rds rock, textee, et all- has tried to mainstream itself, and has dragged the main establishment over with them.

  • ohiolib

    Almost all Liberals on this site regularly say hateful things about people they disagree with politically
    -
    I’m calling you on this, 3x. Please find me multiple examples of liberals/Ds saying hateful things on this site. I’m sure you can find a few, but “almost all”?? I think you’re confusing hateful for obnoxious, offensive, and just plain stupid.

  • 3xfire3

    Apr,
    .
    I find it simply amazing how you, through your liberal glasses, see comments by conservatives as hateful but similar comments by liberals are not.
    .
    Remember it is not hateful to disagree with a persons political policies or views. That is our right as citizens.
    .
    I think you are see criticism of Obama’s policies and views as hate. They are not. It only appears that way through your liberal glasses.
    .
    I find hateful comments made on this site by liberals in the range of 3 to 1 compared to conservatives.
    .
    An example is Freedom makes many good posts about Obama policies he disagrees with. Yet you and other liberals pile on calling him names and engage in personal attacks against him.
    To me this illustrates a hypocrisy by liberals.

  • ohiolib

    ok, 3x. You couldn’t back up your assertion. Fair enough.

blog comments powered by Disqus