Here's what Lindsey Graham had to say about the issue:
Senator Graham Press Release
Contact: Wes Hickman (202) 224-5972 or Kevin Bishop (864) 250-1417
Date: 02/15/2007
Graham Statement on Scheduled Iraq Cloture Vote
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) made this statement on plans by Majority Leader Harry Reid to schedule a vote on the Democratic Iraq resolution this weekend.
Reid today said he plans for the Senate to stay in session through the weekend and maybe into next week to debate the resolution currently under debate in the House of Representatives. The Democratic resolution opposes General Petraeus's new strategy in Iraq.
Earlier this month the Senate was scheduled to vote on a Democratic resolution opposing the troop surge but Democrats, unwilling to allow the Republicans to offer an alternative resolution, could not garner 60 votes to bring debate to a close.
Graham said:
"I will do everything in my power to ensure the House resolution dies an inglorious death in the Senate.
"The resolution will be seen by our enemies around the world as a weakening of our resolve. It will embolden our enemy to defeat us in Iraq and drive us from the Middle East. It is also not remotely helpful to the war effort or our troops in the field.
"These non-binding resolutions are political theatre at its worst. Our troops deserve and expect us to rise to the occasion. Instead, we have a case of congress acting in a small political fashion during a momentous time in our history. Our actions will play a decisive role in shaping our national security today and for decades to come.
"Any effort by Majority Leader Reid to deny the Senate a full and fair debate and a series of votes on Iraq will be met by staunch resistance from many Republicans. There should be no more business in the U.S. Senate until we fully and fairly debate this new effort to secure victory in Iraq. The American people expect and deserve no less."
It's ironic, the Graham haters claim the reason why a man who lead the fight to impeach Clinton and has a 91% conservative rating is a RINO traitor is supposedly because he is "does McCain's bidding and undermines our President on the WOT".
Meanwhile, the FACTS show Graham has steadfastly supported Bush on Iraq and is far better on the WOT than "true conservatives" like Sam Brownback and Bob Ingles. Graham certainly has not been "McCain's puppet" on every issue, a quick look at their records will show that the five times McCain took a "maverick" position last year, Graham did NOT support him on any of them. They hold a wide variety of differing views on various issues, from ANWR drilling to tax cuts.
The true is the Graham haters are the Ned Lamonts of the GOP. While the Lamont club belives Lieberman is "Bush's lapdog" because he agrees with him on ONE issue, the "Graham is a homosexual traitor" because they can't give over his vote on the "Gang of 14". I really don't see what he he did to deserve all this fanatical hatred, since I too was initially angry about the "Gang of 14" thing but at least we got Alito and Roberts out of it.
People like Walter Jones Jr. in nearby North Carolina and MUCH worse than Graham and far more deserving of a primary challenger, but you never see vanities demanding Jones get run out of town on a rail, only Graham.
Wouldn't suprise me if a bunch of Clintonites signed up on this forum and are trying to convince conservatives to eat their own while real RINOs go unchallenged. It is a well known fact Clinton has waited for years to get revenge on Lindsey Graham and the only way he can defeat him in S.C. is by having Republicans lynch him in a primary. Precious time and resources in the primary would be far better spent going after ACTUAL RINOs.