• Tag Archives Lindsey Graham

  • Rand Paul won’t back Lindsey Graham in Republican primary

    Posted on by Azrael 1 Comment

    The disagreements between Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) are no secret. The two have clashed on various political issues, most notably on foreign policy, highlighting the gap between the new faces in the Republican Party and the Old Guard establishment that almost always chooses politics over principle.

    For example, after Paul’s filibuster in March, during which he raised awareness to President Obama’s drones policy, Graham and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) slammed the emerging non-interventionism in the Republican Party. More recently, the South Carolina Senator has downplayed conservative efforts to challenge the Obama Administration on domestic policy.

    But even as he faces three different conservative primary challengers in his bid for re-election, Graham doesn’t seem ready to back down from positions he has taken that are out-of-touch with many Republicans in South Carolina.

    During an interview with The State, a South Carolina-based newspaper, Paul indicated that he wasn’t going to get involved in the primary and delineated some of the problems Graham may face as he makes his case for re-election.

    “You know, at this point my position is that I am trying to stay out of races that have incumbents, so that’s what my decision is at least for now,” said Paul when asked if he would back one of Graham’s primary challengers.

    “[W]e have some disagreements. And if anything, I think he’s probably been more forceful in pointing out the disagreements,” Paul noted after a follow up question. “I frankly think that people, really of America but also South Carolina, probably aren’t that excited about sending good money after bad to Egypt and these far flung places.”

    “I think if you were to ask about an issue like that and whether or not we should obey the law — you know the law says when there is a military coup that the military aid should end — I think that maybe you would find the people of South Carolina disagree with him on some of these issues,” he added.

    Graham voted against Paul’s amendment to end military aid to Egypt after the coup d’état that deposed Mohamed Morsi’s regime.

    Full article: http://www.unitedlib … aham-for-re-election


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  • Lindsey Graham: ‘If I thought censoring the mail was necessary, I would suggest it’

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Sen. Lindsey Graham would propose censoring Americans’ “snail” mail if he thought it would help protect national security, the South Carolina Republican said Tuesday. But for now, he says he doesn’t think it’s necessary.

    Faced with questions about the disclosure that the National Security Agency has been collecting phone and email records of citizens, Graham pointed to a World War II-era program in which the federal government censored mail. He said it was appropriate at the time and that he would support reinstating the program if it aided security efforts.

    “In World War II, the mentality of the public was that our whole way of life was at risk, we’re all in. We censored the mail. When you wrote a letter overseas, it got censored. When a letter was written back from the battlefield to home, they looked at what was in the letter to make sure they were not tipping off the enemy,” Graham, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told reporters on Capitol Hill. “If I thought censoring the mail was necessary, I would suggest it, but I don’t think it is.”

    The Guardian newspaper revealed last week details of a government surveillance program enacted in response to terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, that secretly collects digital communication data from U.S. citizens.

    Full article: http://news.yahoo.co … ggest-182932835.html

     


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  • DO BLOGGERS ‘DESERVE FIRST AMENDMENT PROTECTION’? SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM ISN’T QUITE SURE

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    The issue of whether bloggers are technically journalists has been discussed since, well, since blogging ever became a thing — and the line between the two is only becoming more blurred. But Sen. Lindsey Graham in some interesting comments Wednesday didn’t seem quite sure if bloggers should even receive First Amendment protection.

    Speaking to reporters ,the South Carolina senator asked rhetorically, “Who is a journalist is a question we need to ask ourselves?” the Free Times out of Columbia reported.

    “Is any blogger out there saying anything — do they deserve First Amendment protection? These are the issues of our times.”

    In general terms, any U.S. citizen is granted freedom of speech under the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment does also say, as Graham is alluding, that Congress shall make no law abridging freedom of the press. It is this provision that has Graham wondering if it extends to bloggers as he helps draft a new media shield law to protect members of the press after the federal government has come under fire for targeting the emails of Associated Press reporters and a Fox News reporter without warrants.

    Full article: http://www.theblaze. … ham-isnt-quite-sure/


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