Posted on 03/08/2005 12:14:35 PM PST by DixieOklahoma
3/7/2005
GOP senator Graham rankles some over comments on Lincoln
By John Byrne | RAW STORY Editor
Senator Lindsey Graham has ignited a new furor in Washington over comments he made over the weekend referring to his state’s difficulty in “getting over” President Abraham Lincoln, with apparent reference to Lincoln’s role in the civil war and the freeing of American slaves, RAW STORY has learned.
“We don’t do Lincoln Day Dinners in South Carolina,” Senator Graham told a Lincoln Day gathering in Tennessee Saturday. “It’s nothing personal, but it takes awhile to get over things.”
According to a Knoxville News Sentinel article published Sunday, Graham entertained an amicable crowd and joked about his predecessor in the Senate, former Sen. Strom Thurmond.
“In theory, I have 50 more years left in the Senate,” Graham remarked.
The article, titled “GOP senator has unifying message,” was picked up upon by the progressive Washington blog DC Inside Scoop.
The Democratic National Committee said Sen. Graham’s remarks were inappropriate and that they echoed comments made by former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS), which resulted in Lott’s removal as Senate leader.
“Joke or not, this is exactly the type of comment that Trent Lott made when he was deposed as leader,” said DNC spokesman Jano Cabrera. “It has no place in public discourse.”
“He should apologize,” Cabrera added.
Sen. Graham’s office was closed and could not be reached for comment Monday evening.
Several Hill offices declined immediate comment, saying they wanted to review Graham’s remarks in full, and that on such a delicate matter, the members in question would have to approve any responses.
Sen. Lott told a 2002 birthday celebration in honor of Sen. Strom Thurmond that he was proud his state supported Thurmond’s pro-segregation 1948 campaign.
“We’re proud of it,” Lott said. “And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn’t have had all these problems over all these years either,” Lott said.
The resulting outcry cost Lott his job as Majority Leader. Lott later apologized, saying racism and segregation were “immoral.”
BWAHAHAHAHA. "War of Northern Aggression". I jest love that southron sense of humor.
Even Robert E Lee called it a Civil War!
Let's see here, im alive, I have a job. I am pretty much free to do as I say and please....
seems pretty good to me.
Neither did KKK Byrd's remarks about white *iggers, but I still don't here any outrage from the left over that. Or when was the last time they checked out a statement, any statement, from Maxine Waters or Cynthia McKinney? There are no two more racist people in Congress today. And I know they didn't get all bent out of shape when the U-Boat Commander and other fringe whackjobs compared Dubya to Hitler.
This selective outrage of the left is going to, if not already has, turned people away from them. For them to give a pass to these clowns and useful idiots like Ward Churchill, citing free speech, while trying to crucify Laurence Summers and now Lindsay Graham for making offhand remarks meant either in jest or speculation is so blatantly PC it makes me nauseous.
Most people don't care for bigots, but even fewer care for hypocrites. You'd think the RATS would have figured that out by now.
Triple whammy southerner here!
The sad thing is not that the southern GOP is dropping the title of "Lincoln Day Dinner" because they find it insulting to them, but that they insist on substituting "Reagan Day Dinner" as a title. Given what the southern Republicans are doing to the party that is an insult to us.
Hold on there.
Have you heard of that? I can't Goggle it.
Sherman's strategy ended the war sooner, I think, but I don't know whether or not he went overboard. A case could be made either way. But my point - entirely apart from the morality, or not, of Sherman's strategy - was that the South was ruined for years. That could easily trigger Southern anger toward Abraham Lincoln, who ordered (or at least tolerated) the destruction of their homes, farms, and cities.
Greensboro?
I've never heard of a Lincoln Day Dinner and I live in New York State. These Demoncrats are nuts.
maybe the senator is trying to score points back home by bashing Lincoln, but continuing to be a rino in the senate?
Actually, I've heard Senator Graham talk before, and one of his themes for his humor is the fact that the people of his State have long memories, and he often jokes about that. I think I once read a quote of his that when he won his House seat he was the first Republican elected there in 140 years, and they hung the last one. I know I have heard other jokes on the South, and it's always done in good humor. No matter how I read the article with this quote, I see nothing racial in it. It is the usual. Dems looking for any reason to create a stink.
Ronald Reagan, a Northern Republican, believed in smaller government. The current GOP leadership, overwhelmingly southern, believes in bigger government. Ronald Reagan, a Northern Republican, believed in less intrusive government. The current GOP leadership, overwhelmingly southern, believes in more government intrusion in our lives. Ronald Reagan, a Northern Republican, believed in fiscal responsibility. The current GOP leadership, overwhelmingly southern, believes in massive deficits. Ronald Reagan, a Northern Republican, believed in letting the states and local communities control their schools and court systems. The current GOP leadership, overwhelmingly southern, believes in bringing control to the federal level. It those values of Ronald Reagan, a Northern Republican, are liberal in your eyes. Then I'm a liberal, too.
We call ours Reagan Day instead.
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