Lindsey Graham, foot-in-mouth disease at it's best

Boy, these guys just keep it up. First, Trent Lott fired a salvo over the bow by stating that "talk radio is running things" and "we need to do something about that." But Lindsey Graham takes the cake. The transcript below is courtesy of Hugh Hewitt:

John [McCain] is telling the Republican Party 'If you want to win 2008, you can't win with 22% of the Hispanic vote.' How are we going to be a viable party if we leave this issue behind, unresolved? How are we going to be a viable party if we tell President Bush 'Go take a hike because we don't want to deal with the 12 million?' It is hard. Our culture is under assault. People feel like that if let the 12 million in and forgive them that would be bad, and they're right. We're not forgiving anybody. We're saying you stay here on our terms. You learn English. You learn civics. Your'e going to stay here on our terms. You pay taxes. We're not going to give our culture away. But here's what's at stake. We've been down this road before. No Catholics. No Jews. Irish need not apply. That's not the America I want. I want an America that enfoces its laws but also respects its culture and respects people. We can make this a win win for America, if we're courageous. If we're afraid for the next election and we govern this country on the basis of the next election, we're going to fall apart as a people.

Um, excuse me here but no one I know of has such a racist view of this bill. TThe majority of people we speak to about this bill agree on three main points:

First, the cost. The Heritage Foundation has said, all in all, this bill if passed will cost the American taxpayer trillions for all that must be done, and the assistance illegal aliens will receive. (The back taxes called for in the bill have been figured in, and they don't cover the costs.)

Second, the Z-Visa is a bureaucratic boondoggle. Those that apply, if not declared unwanted here due to a criminal check, will be given their visa, and allowed to stay. The waiting perido? 24-48 hours. Yeah, right. It took the Judiciary Committee nearly a mionth to gather all of John Roberts' legal records. The government thinks it can do this in the truncated time frame? That'd be a miracle of Biblical proportions.

Third, the security scrutiny given to those that come from countries of interest -- namely Middle Eastern, Asian, and Northern African nations -- will get the same treatment as a Latino or Hispanic here now. I think, and people agree, that an extra level of scrutiny needs to be given to these people. Nineteen illegal aliens hit this nation on 11 September, and we'd rather not see this happen again.

When we heard this during Hugh's show today, we were flabbergasted that a sitting US senator would basically call the opponents of this bill bigots. It's beyond the pale and completely reprehensible. It is unprofessional, and harldy fitting of a man who sits in the senior legislative body serving this nation. This goes beyond what President Bush asserted, but is much closer to the line that both Linda Chvez and Michael Chertoff is using.

We've got a piece of news for the president and the party leaders: If anything falls apart in this nation it will be our party because they'll be no support left for them. 2008 could turn out to be a night of long knives for the party if this is the rhetoric our elected leaders are going to use on us. Sitting out the election is a distinct possibility, but I'd rather bet on some serious primary challenges. And if people like Lindsey Graham and Trent Lott thinks that this will fade from the public's memory, think again. As bloggers, Marcie and I will make it our mission in life to not let the public forget about this. Furthermore, I still think that John Boehner needs to remove Trent Lott fromt he whip position. His comments were a direct threat to free speech in this nation.

When you start talking about "dealing with" talk radio because they're beating the bushes, then there's a problem with those in Congress. What part of "shall make no law" do they miss in the First Amendment? Talk radio -- especially those ont he center/right -- have just as much right to voice their opinion as those on the Left do. I'm sure NPR has heard both sides of this debate. But as neither of us listen to NPR, we can't speak as to what they've heard about this bill. And yes, even though Michael Savage is a nutter, even he still has a right to speak.

I suggest both men make amends to the base. By attacking us, you just inflamed the issue rather than defusing it. And we're not going to shut up, now. We're going to dig in, reinforce, and wade into the fight. Rather than attacking us (bloggers are included in their disdain) they may want to try reading us. I suggest they start at Hugh's site where he disseminated several portions of the bill, exposing the flaws large enough to drive a semi-truck through. Then move onto the other law-bloggers that have been touching on the bill. They've read it. They know it. (And yes, I still challenge any of the bill's supporters to rattle off ten senators on the pro side that have read the bill as in-depth as many of the bloggers who have been dealing with this issue.)

These men did nothing to help their cause. As a matter of fact they've exposed themselves. Having to resort to slanderous attacks and straw man arguments shows they can't defend this bill other than with the "it's better than the status quo" argument. If that's the best they have, then this bill is doomed. It'll never reach the president's desk. Take our advice and call your senators. Call all the senators. 202-225-3121

Publius II