Senator Graham (rankles some over) comments on (president) Lincoln

rawstory ^

[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.”

[GOPcapitalist]

Here's Mark Twain's version of Howe's little poem

Mine eyes have seen the orgy of he Launching of the Sword
He is searching out the hoardings where the stranger's wealth is stored;
He hath loosed his fateful lightnings and with woe and death has scored; His lust is marching on.

I have seen him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps;
They have builded him an altar in the Eastern dews and damps;
I have read his doomful mission by the dim and flaring lamps; His night is marching on!

I have read his bandit gospel writ in burnished rows of steel:
"As ye deal with my pretensions, so with you my wrath shall deal;
Let the faithless son of Freedom crush the patriot with his heel;
Lo, Greed is marching on!"

We have legalized the strumpet and are guarding her retreat;
Greed is seeking out commercial souls before his judgement seat;
O, be swift, ye clods, to answer him! Be jubilant my feet! Our god is marching on.

In a sordid slime harmonious Greed was born in yonder ditch,
With a longing in his bosom -- and for others' goods an itch.
As Christ died to make men holy, let men die to make us rich --Our god is marching on

Needless to say, the great Mr. Clemens had Sherman pegged.

[NYC GOP Chick]

Even worse is that he kisses up to the Hildebeast. Blech.

[GOPcapitalist]

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.

The last time we let your region of the country run the government they picked Bill Clinton for us. The last time we had an election they tried to pick John Kerry for us but were stopped thanks to the Solid Red South. In other words, don't try to pick a speck out of somebody else's eye when you've got a log in your own.

[GOPcapitalist]

Ronald Reagan, a Northern Republican, believed in smaller government.

You may want to communicate that to your buddy ftD. He's over on one of the other threads right now ranting and raving about how he thinks Ronald Reagan was a huge tax and spend grow-the-government type president, all in order to make Lincoln look good by comparison!

[Non-Sequitur]

The last time we let your region of the country run the government they picked Bill Clinton for us. The last time we had an election they tried to pick John Kerry for us but were stopped

Clinton did better in your state than he did in mine. In fact Kerry did better in your state than he did in mine so you can save that "your region picked Clinton" bullshit for someone else.

[GOPcapitalist]

"Then I'm a liberal, too." - Non-Sequitur

I coulda told you that all along.

[Non-Sequitur]

You may want to communicate that to your buddy ftD.

I don't speak for fortheDeclaration. I notice that you didn't dispute that the southern GOP has dragged the party to its current big government, big spending policies.

[GOPcapitalist]

Clinton did better in your state than he did in mine.

But he also did worse than both Dole and Bush in my state, who got more votes here than in yours.

In fact Kerry did better in your state than he did in mine so you can save that "your region picked Clinton" bullshit for someone else.

Really? I doubt it. Bush probably got more votes in my state than there are voters in your state.

[GOPcapitalist]

But you speak to him, eh White?

[Mulder]

The more I learn about Lincoln, the more I'm convinced that the man was a monster.

[GOPcapitalist]

The more I learn about Lincoln, the more I'm convinced that the man was a monster.

There are many basic facts about Lincoln that the general public does not know. There are also many people who don't want the public to know about them for exactly the reason you describe.

For example: We all learn in history class about FDR's court packing scheme, and how it was a failure and major setback for FDR. Conservatives always criticize FDR for it as well, and rightly so.

But did you know that Lincoln successfully pushed a court packing scheme of his own through Congress in 1863? It wasn't the supreme court, but instead went after the next thing: the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. He did it because the D.C. Circuit Court issued a ruling against him for suspending habeas corpus. It all happened in 1861 when a habeas corpus case went before the court. The judge found Lincoln's suspension of it was illegal and struck him down. So Lincoln got mad AND got even. First Lincoln sent an army thug to the judge's house and placed him under house arrest. So the other judges on the court ruled that his guards were in contempt of court, but Lincoln sent another guard who intercepted the contempt order when it was being delivered and prevented them from enforcing their ruling! Then he went to Congress and asked them for a court packing bill that would abolish the D.C. Circuit Court and set up a new replacement where he could name all the judges. Congress gave him what he wanted and all the judges on the D.C. Circuit were unceremoniously kicked out of office - including it's 86-year old senior member Justice Morsell, who was appointed to the court by President James Madison and had been a close friend of many founding fathers including Madison and Francis Scott Key. He then loaded the empty bench with his cronies. But they never teach that in history class...

[Mo1]

The RAW STORY ??

That site is far left trash

[Mulder]

But they never teach that in history class...

There are many things that are different from what the "offical state version" is. Gulf of Tonkin, Lusitania, Pearl Harbor, JFK, etc....

As for Lincoln, I really haven't done much research on him, so I'll probably purchase "The Real Lincoln" by DiLorenzo. It's gotten some good reviews on amazon.com.

[DixieOklahoma]

Ronald Reagan, a Northern Republican

Ronald reagan was governor of California dumb*ss. And for that matter he is dead. Name a NORTHERN politician that is alive, republican, and conservative

[DixieOklahoma]

Do you dispute that the southern GOP has led the republican to a majority in the house and senate? something your region could never do... because they just don't get it.

[DixieOklahoma]

Name a NORTHERN politician that is alive, republican, and conservative

How about Arlen Specter... nope ohh ohh I know, how about rudy Guiliani...nope that doesn't work either.

The bottom line is that the south will not vote for somebody who is not from the south regardless of the party. OR I should say that the south would not vote for a northerner over a southerner. So therefore it is better stratergy for the republican party to nominate southerners.

[GOPcapitalist]

As for Lincoln, I really haven't done much research on him, so I'll probably purchase "The Real Lincoln" by DiLorenzo. It's gotten some good reviews on amazon.com

That's a good starter book especially if you're just beginning to discover Lincoln.

There are many people out there in the historian profession and many on this forum who will tell you otherwise and trash the book constantly. It's more or less the same crowd that trashes Thomas Woods' book "The Politically Incorrect Guide to History." They do it all for the same reason: both books challege the conventional "official" version of history and the attackers all tend to have a vested interest in that version. The bad part is that crowd is hypersensitive, hyperdefensive, and outright vicious when it comes to smearing people who challenge their myths. They quite literally attacked DiLorenzo over typographical errors in his footnotes and 2-3 minor mistakes in the first print run of 100-something page book that are corrected now. They're starting to do the same with Woods, but if you look closely at the negative reviews of both it's always heavy on namecalling with very little substance.

Official Myths die hard, but they die nonetheless.

[GOPcapitalist]

Don't mind non-seq. He blames the south for everything that's wrong with the country. It irritates him to know that his favorite region, the northeast, voted unanimously for Clinton save one state (Indiana) not once but twice. He can't stand the fact that the south and the mountain states are the conservative moral anchors of this country while his favorite region, along with the left coast, are wing dumpsters.

In short, he's in denial about the Red State/Blue State map and can't figure out why "Jesusland" isn't located in New England. So to get back at the rest of us he takes to doing what all yankee idealogues do when the deficiencies of their regions and politicians are pointed out: he tears everybody else down to his own region's level.

[DixieOklahoma]

With the southern - western alliance I believe we are in good hands but we have got to keep working together to keep the socialists in either party at bay.

[willyboyishere]

My exact impression of L. Graham--he looked almost like a "contender" during the Clinton impeachment, but I think we all should have learned by now that talk, especially political talk, is cheap, and always tailored to suit the purposes of the moment, and no one takes it seriously, not the intended target, or the accusers. NEVER expect establishment politicians to get really tough with one another----ultimately they all belong to the same country club, and we pay their annual dues.