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Lindsey Graham's Latest Threat: No Immigration Reform if Health Care Passes

By Jeralyn, Section Legislation
Posted on Fri Mar 19, 2010 at 07:23:31 PM EST
Tags: health care reform, immigration reform (all tags)
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Sen. Lindsey Graham is feeling his oats. His constituents ought to send him back to pasture. His latest: He threatens that if the health care bill passes, there will be no immigration reform this year.

“The first casualty of the Democratic health care bill will be immigration reform. If the health care bill goes through this weekend, that will, in my view, pretty much kill any chance of immigration reform passing the Senate this year,” Graham said in a statement blast-emailed to the Washington press corps.

Graham's influence over the detainee trials and Guantanamo is going to his head. The Dems should refuse to listen to him.

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    Lindsey Graham's Latest Threat: No Immigration Reform if Health Care Passes | 28 comments (28 topical)

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    Really? (5.00 / 2) (#1)
    by MileHi Hawkeye on Fri Mar 19, 2010 at 07:32:36 PM EST
    Immigration is not one of the hottest conservative hot buttons?  And now their leadership is threatening to do nothing about it?  

    Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face.  

     

    The Republicans were never (5.00 / 2) (#7)
    by MKS on Fri Mar 19, 2010 at 07:43:59 PM EST
    going to cooperate on anything again....So, it is a moot point.....

    Parent
    Lindsey hasn't noticed he is the only one (5.00 / 1) (#9)
    by ruffian on Fri Mar 19, 2010 at 07:47:55 PM EST
    in his party even pretending to participate in governing. I will give him credit for at least wanting to be a legislator and not a doorstop.

    But his threats would mean a lot more if he had any power to deliver any vote but his own.

    Parent

    For South Carolina (none / 0) (#13)
    by CoralGables on Fri Mar 19, 2010 at 09:02:36 PM EST
    he's closer to a blue dog than a Tea Partier. We could do far worse the Lindsey, e.g. Jim DeMint

    Parent
    Hey, our bar is almost that low in Florida (5.00 / 1) (#19)
    by ruffian on Fri Mar 19, 2010 at 09:34:43 PM EST
    but I think you win this particular limbo contest.

    Parent
    or rather SC does (none / 0) (#20)
    by ruffian on Fri Mar 19, 2010 at 09:35:46 PM EST
    You yourself are a fine resident of the Sunshine State. Can't wait for that Rubio-Crist primary to really heat up!

    Parent
    I'm really mixed (none / 0) (#23)
    by CoralGables on Fri Mar 19, 2010 at 10:48:15 PM EST
    on that one. Crist wins and he's a shoe in for the general. Rubio I assume is easily beatable in the general but only if we have someone on the ballot that can win statewide. If it's a choice between Crist or Rubio with no winning democrat on the ballot, I'll take Crist. By South Carolina standards Crist is a progressive.

    Parent
    Oh, that's a given. (5.00 / 1) (#10)
    by MileHi Hawkeye on Fri Mar 19, 2010 at 07:49:17 PM EST
    If good old Lovely Lindsey wants to tell the base they don't care about a core issue, more power to him.  That's sure to play well with the baggers and other assorted lunatics.  

    Parent
    Wow, that is childish (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by Spamlet on Fri Mar 19, 2010 at 07:33:44 PM EST


    I see you've met Lindsey Graham (5.00 / 1) (#3)
    by ruffian on Fri Mar 19, 2010 at 07:35:48 PM EST


    Parent
    They created a monster listening to him (5.00 / 0) (#6)
    by ruffian on Fri Mar 19, 2010 at 07:41:36 PM EST
    on the KSM trial.

    And where does he get the idea that immigration reform is near as important to Dems as HCR?  Or that it ever had a chance of passing the Senate this year?

    I think the Hispanic Caucus (5.00 / 1) (#12)
    by Joan in VA on Fri Mar 19, 2010 at 08:18:46 PM EST
    was promised immigration reform, when the undocumented were locked out of "health insurance reform", to get them on board.

    Parent
    Well that promise and a buck fifty (none / 0) (#14)
    by ruffian on Fri Mar 19, 2010 at 09:14:08 PM EST
    will get one of them a cup of coffee. If they, having watched the Senate in what passes for action over the last year, really fell for that one....

     I think that promise was another face saving handout from Reid and Pelosi. Let's see, that's 3 and counting:

    Immigration reform
    A separate vote on a PO this year
    A separate vote on Stupak this year

    and lord knows what else. Harry's gonna be busy.

    Parent

    That's not feeling his oats (5.00 / 1) (#25)
    by gyrfalcon on Fri Mar 19, 2010 at 11:09:37 PM EST
    that's desperation.

    Coburn also today gave an absolutely vile press conference, smirking heavily and announcing that no Democrat who votes for the HCR bill will ever be approved for an appointment by the Senate if they lose their seat as a result, and that furthermore, he and his goons are going to keep a data base of earmarks and other funding by congressional district and will block anything slated to go to the district of a House member who votes for it.

    The GOPers smell defeat, and they're pulling out all the stops they can think of.  Bald open threats of this kind are very, very rare.  It's all usually done behind the scenes, but they're willing to risk saying this stuff explicitly and in public.

    What I would like to see is (5.00 / 1) (#26)
    by nycstray on Fri Mar 19, 2010 at 11:17:33 PM EST
    those making these future threats get thrown out on their a**es. Or at least sent back to kindergarten.

    Parent
    I wished the democrats had been as threatening (5.00 / 1) (#27)
    by suzieg on Fri Mar 19, 2010 at 11:31:16 PM EST
    when they were in the minority. Like it or not, the repubs are a force to be had!

    Parent
    Actually (none / 0) (#28)
    by jbindc on Sat Mar 20, 2010 at 07:32:06 AM EST
    I think it plays exactly to his constituents.  Jeralyn says his constituents should send him packing - why?  this is exactly what they want. That's why he, and not a Democrat, was elected, right?

    Parent
    So (none / 0) (#4)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Mar 19, 2010 at 07:39:12 PM EST
    what else is new? I guess we all can wait with bated breath to see if Obama raises the white flag when he sees Graham coming.

    It would be pretty funny (none / 0) (#8)
    by ruffian on Fri Mar 19, 2010 at 07:44:40 PM EST
    if Obama used his radio address tomorrow to say he is ditching HCR because of this threat. I don't think there is a snowball's chance in Hades it will happen, but it would give the final fitting touch of ridiculousness to the whole last year.

    Parent
    The threat is aimed at (none / 0) (#24)
    by gyrfalcon on Fri Mar 19, 2010 at 11:05:21 PM EST
    the Hispanic caucus in the House, not Obama.  Some of them are already vulnerable because of the abortion business, apparently.

    Parent
    The Rug Buyer (none / 0) (#5)
    by Erehwon on Fri Mar 19, 2010 at 07:41:03 PM EST
    Why does the "I bought five rugs for five bucks" ignoramus still have any kind of audience?

    Blackmail? (none / 0) (#11)
    by squeaky on Fri Mar 19, 2010 at 08:06:19 PM EST
    If you don't pay the ransom we will kill your child again.

    Lindsey has a lot to learn (none / 0) (#15)
    by ruffian on Fri Mar 19, 2010 at 09:15:45 PM EST
    For blackmail to work you have to threaten to kill a child the parents actually care about.

    Parent
    Yeah (none / 0) (#16)
    by squeaky on Fri Mar 19, 2010 at 09:27:51 PM EST
    And have the sense to realize that threatening to kill the kidnapped child after it is already known to be dead, is not likely to wind up scaring up the ransom money.

     

    Parent

    And it helps if your partners in crime (none / 0) (#17)
    by ruffian on Fri Mar 19, 2010 at 09:32:56 PM EST
    don't like the kid more than the parents.

    Parent
    lol (none / 0) (#18)
    by squeaky on Fri Mar 19, 2010 at 09:34:35 PM EST
    Is that a priest joke? Or a page joke?

    Parent
    HA! (none / 0) (#21)
    by ruffian on Fri Mar 19, 2010 at 09:37:16 PM EST
    It was a 'I'm John McCain and immigration reform is my signature issue' joke.

    But it plays multiple ways....

    Parent

    that's a priest joke (none / 0) (#22)
    by ruffian on Fri Mar 19, 2010 at 09:37:42 PM EST


    Parent
    Lindsey Graham's Latest Threat: No Immigration Reform if Health Care Passes | 28 comments (28 topical)

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