Showing posts with label Graham. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Graham. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 07, 2013

McCain And Graham - Past Their Prime

What happens when politicians have outlasted their usefulness?  They meddle.

Jimmy Carter is the champion of meddling even today but two Republicans are running a close second.  How can two be second?  Because you never seem to see one without the other.

Lindsey Graham, the oh so pious yet vague Senator from South Carolina, will at least have to face some challengers in 2014.  Failed presidential candidate and self anointed maverick McCain will be around for awhile yet.  I'm thinking if Graham goes, though, maybe McCain won't be able to find another willing partner.  I've always wondered that if these two are as right about things as they tell us they are, why more of their ilk haven't jumped on their bandwagon.

The administration has them pegged.  They can be used, rolled, whatever you want to call it as long as the reward is face time on camera.  Sometimes it works for them, sometimes not.

I'd say McCain and Graham's recent trip to Egypt to let them know what they must do to retain our favor might not sit well with the Egyptians and might do the administration more harm than good.  They went with the administration's 'blessing' but not at it's request.

Imagine the chutzpah involved in suggesting the release of Morsi and some of their political prisoners might be negotiated in return for concessions from the interim government.  They aren't even part of the administration, thank you very much.  We have a Secretary of State to handle such matters.  And making a joke about what is or isn't a coup.  Talk about abusing political correctness on a grand scale in another country! Let it go, John.  It's right up there with 'bomb, bomb Iran' on your top ten bad joke list.

So the Egyptians have now officially been warned by our twin mavericks that their aid money might be in jeopardy if they don't admit to our terminology then apologize for it and do the bidding of these two. Wow. Never mind what the Egyptian people want. Why are they there again?

I don't think the Egyptians are concerned.  The Saudis have offered them far more in aid than we have.  They have successfully made the administration look weak for having these two appear to be roving ambassadors even though it's another self appointed title.

It's bad enough when the administration makes blunders.  They don't need the help of two from the Republican side making it worse.  So what's the end result of this exercise in narcissism?  I can't believe I've extended the term beyond  the presidential persona, but I have.  In spades.  So, we have a failed trip at tax payer expense and the contempt of the Egyptian people and their interim government for having interfered where it wasn't needed or wanted.

And you wonder why the world looks at us as inept, weak and inconsequential.

Friday, March 08, 2013

Grumpy Old Men

Wow!  McCain and Graham cannot win for losing this week.  This must be foreign territory for the political Bobbsey Twins!  I couldn't be happier.  I hate sanctimonious politicians and these two personify it and they're not handling it well.

After the Rand Paul filibuster, the Twitter world would have you believe that just maybe the Republicans are finding a voice.  Of course one incident does not a revitalized party make, but it's a start.  Especially when colleagues have the courage to come forward in support.

But these two!  Mocking the effort and calling the participants "wacky birds" doesn't make Paul and his associates look wacky, but rather McCain and his!  It is no secret that the Republicans are split.  It's also correct that neither side of the split has a monopoly on being correct as to the direction the party should go.

One reason I was against McCain when he ran for President was his age and his grasp of things he should have had and did not.  Even something as simple as knowing how to send an e-mail.  His war record is long past and while it should be appreciated for what it was, it doesn't come with a lifetime pass to act stupidly.

As for Mr. Graham, he's good with platitudes.  Occasionally I will catch him on Greta and find he does a very consistent sidestep when pressed on why things are not getting done.  A silver tongue and a reasonably pleasant persona is not a substitute for straight answers.  Of all people he should know that since he's still waiting for straight talk on Benghazi.

Times change.  There comes a point when people don't.  I'm going through that phase myself.  I'm having a difficult time reconciling what I've known and believed for most of my adult life with new attitudes and ways of accomplishing things.  Politically, though, there should be one constant and that should be the Constitution, no matter your age or party.  When you begin to think that those 'youngsters' don't know anything and you know everything, it's time to go.

If you believe in the principles of the Republican Party, then discuss your issues in private.  You're supposed to be on the same page here.  What you're doing is magnifying the split and looking petty along with it. You aren't all knowing and don't hold all the cards any more.

If you can no longer serve with dignity and grace perhaps it's time to retire with dignity and grace. Showing yourselves as petty and pathetic would be a sad way to see once distinguished careers come to an end. And end they will.  Sooner rather than later if it isn't understood that rigidity and change aren't compatible.