Think Progress

Graham: ‘John [McCain] Is His Own Guy. Good Luck Making Him George Bush.’»

This morning on CNN’s Late Edition, host Wolf Blitzer asked Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), “Where would Sen. McCain change U.S. policy from what the Bush administration is doing right now?” Graham responded:

I think there are a couple areas that would be different. One global climate change. John has been talking about global climate change for many years now. I think he would help lead the world to a solution there.

On the domestic front, I don’t think you’ll have a stronger advocate for limited government than Sen. McCain. And when it comes to foreign policy, I think John can put together the alliances that we need, strengthen some alliances that have been frayed a bit that will help us confront places like Iran. John is his own guy. Good luck making him George Bush.

Watch it:

Ironically, just over a month ago on CNN, Graham refused to say there was any “difference” between the worldview of McCain and Bush.

Graham now wants to claim that McCain is different from Bush on climate change and in working with allies. In reality, McCain has begun sounding like Bush on those issues as well:

– On climate change, Bush has minimized his differences with McCain by announcing a weak plan to cap carbon emissions in 2025.

– On working with allies, McCain was forced to back down from a proposal to establish a League of Democracies after experts warned it “could damage U.S. interests” by alienating allies. Furthermore, his plan to kick Russia out of the G8 has elicited concern among European allies.

As President Bush has said, McCain “is not going to change” his key policies. Good luck running for a third Bush term.

Graham: Americans Economic ‘Uneasiness’ Stems From ‘Concerns’ About When Bush’s Tax Cuts Will Expire»

In an op-ed today in the Greenville News (SC) commemorating Tax Day, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) wrote that “South Carolinians [are] encouraging me to find some way — any way — to make Tax Day less burdensome.” In order to relieve the burden, Graham argued that President Bush’s tax cuts should be made permanent.

Trying to bolster his case, Graham asserted — without any evidence — that the federal government “actually collected more in tax revenue” because of Bush’s tax cuts. But then he made a slightly more jaw-dropping claim: Americans’ “uneasiness” about the economy is perhaps due to their fear that Bush’s tax cuts will expire:

[Tax cuts were] the right medicine for an ailing economy and the results were clear. By lowering taxes, the federal government spurred economic development and actually collected more in tax revenue. […]

I believe some of the uneasiness taxpayers feel today about the economy is driven by concerns they are going to be hit with huge tax increases when the tax cuts expire.

Is fear that Bush’s tax cuts will expire causing Americans to sour on the economy? Perhaps. But maybe American negative attitudes toward the economy stem from the housing and credit crises, job losses, rising unemployment, a volatile stock market, high gas prices, high family debt, flat wages, increasing budget deficits, a weak dollar, and rising health care costs — not to mention the effects of the $12 billion per month war in Iraq that is being bankrolled largely on borrowed funds.

But more than that, economists — including the current Treasury Secretary and Federal Reserve Chairman, members of Bush’s Council on Economic Advisers (CEA) and Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) own economic adviser — disagree with Graham’s assertion that tax cuts boost revenue:

– Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson: “As a general rule, I don’t believe that tax cuts pay for themselves.”

– Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke: Tax cuts only “partially offset the losses in revenues.”

– McCain economic adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin: Asked if tax cuts generate “enough additional revenue to pay for themselves? ‘No,’ said Douglas Holtz-Eakin.”

– Edward P. Lazear, current chairman of Bush’s CEA: “I certainly would not claim that tax cuts pay for themselves.”

Indeed, Graham has a fairly solid history of making absurd claims, most recently saying that McCain has done “even more” than former Vice President Al Gore on global warming.

Digg it!

Ignoring Uptick In Iraq Violence, Lieberman And Graham Accuse War Critics Of ‘A Crisis Of Credibility’»

Writing in the Wall Street Journal today, Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) accuse critics of the Iraq war of facing “a crisis of credibility” because they “confidently predicted the failure of the surge.” But in their effort to argue that anti-war critics have “been proven decidedly wrong,” Lieberman and Graham undermine their own credibility on the issue by ignoring recent developments in the war-torn country.

As proof of the surge’s success, the two hawkish senators cite statistics that they say show “dramatic improvements in security”:

No one can deny the dramatic improvements in security in Iraq achieved by Gen. Petraeus, the brave troops under his command, and the Iraqi Security Forces. From June 2007 through February 2008, deaths from ethno-sectarian violence in Baghdad have fallen approximately 90%. American casualties have also fallen sharply, down by 70%.

The fact that Lieberman and Graham only cite statistics through February — even though numbers for March 2008 are available — undercuts their argument. Perhaps they ignored March because there was “a 25 or 30 percent increase in the number of civilian casualties” from February to March:

Overall, Iraqi deaths rose from a low of 568 in December and 541 in January to roughly 721 in February to more than 1,082 in March, according to statistics compiled by Iraq’s ministries of health, interior, and defense and confirmed by Smith. The vast majority were civilians.

“There was somewhere on the order of a 25 or 30 percent increase in the number of civilian casualties when you consider March compared to February,” Smith said, although “the numbers are still nowhere near what they had been last summer.”

Lieberman and Graham also claim that “the critics in Washington have been proven wrong” about political progress in Iraq, citing the passage of “de-Baathification, amnesty, the budget and provincial elections” legislation by the Iraqi government. But this too is not an honest assessment of what has occurred in Iraq. In a report to be released today, the experts who advised the original Iraq Study Group call political progress “superficial“:

A new assessment of U.S. policy in Iraq by the same experts who advised the original Iraq Study Group concludes that political progress is “so slow, halting and superficial” and political fragmentation “so pronounced” that the United States is no closer to being able to leave Iraq than it was a year ago.

Before accusing their political opponents of “a crisis of credibility,” Lieberman and Graham should make sure their arguments don’t undermine their own credibility.

Graham: We Must Defeat Militias ‘Backed By Iran’ By Siding With Militia Backed By Iran»

The U.S. has stepped up its involvement in the intra-Shiite militia fighting in southern Iraq in recent days, air bombing several targets. The Bush administration is supporting the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (ISCI) and the Badr militia, which are aligned with the Iraqi government, against Muqtada al Sadr’s Mahdi Army.

On Fox News Sunday today, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said the U.S. support was necessary to tame Iranian influence in Iraq:

Now we have a battle with militias who are operating outside the government. … We must win this fight. The militias that we are fighting are backed by Iran. So this is an effort by Iran to destabilize Iraq.

Watch it:

Graham is trying to oversimplify the situation. In reality, the U.S. is helping bolster Iran’s influence by injecting itself into this fight. Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) explained:

The Iranians have close associations with all the Shia communities, not only with Sadr but also Hakim. … The notion that this is fight by American allies against Iranian-inspired elements is not accurate.

Ray Takeyh of the Council on Foreign Relations noted the ISCI “was essentially created by Iran, and its militia, the Badr Brigade, was trained and equipped by the Revolutionary Guards” — which the Bush administration calls a “terrorist” organization.

Journalist Gareth Porter added the Badr militia is the “most pro-Iranian political-military forces in Iraq.” In fact, ISCI leader Abdul Aziz al-Hakim “met with [Iranian Revolutionary Guard] officers to be his guests in December 2006, apparently to discuss military assistance to the Badr Organisation.”

Graham, underscoring his cluelessness about the situation on the ground right now, added that “the Badr brigade is not the problem.” Graham seems to be supporting an effort to fight Iran by supporting Iran.

Graham Claims McCain ‘Has Never Said That This War Would Be Easy’»

Yesterday on Fox News’ Hannity and Colmes, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) claimed that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) never said that the Iraq war would be won easily:

He has never said that this war would be easy. He has been the guy saying for four years that we’re getting it wrong. We need more troops.

Watch it:

Graham’s statement is absolutely false. In the run-up to war, McCain eagerly proclaimed on multiple occasions that the war would be “easy,” giving rosy predictions about the daunting war ahead:

“Because I know that as successful as I believe we will be, and I believe that the success will be fairly easy, we will still lose some American young men or women.”" [CNN, 9/24/02]

“But the point is that, one, we will win this conflict. We will win it easily.” [MSNBC, 1/22/03]

When Alan Colmes countered Graham’s statement with a barrage of similar quotes from McCain, Graham responded: “He said that beating the Saddam Hussein regime militarily was quick and it was lethal,” implying McCain knew the post-invasion would be difficult. But McCain has displayed ignorance about that as well:

“We’re not going to get into house-to-house fighting in Baghdad. We may have to take out buildings, but we’re not going to have a bloodletting of trading American bodies for Iraqi bodies.” [CNN, 9/29/02]

“There’s not a history of clashes that are violent between Sunnis and Shias. So I think they can probably get along.” [MSNBC, 4/23/03]

McCain even reflected on the war last year and said, “it was easy.” “Well, it was easy. It was easy. I said we — a military operation would be easy. It was easy. We were greeted as liberators,” he told Tim Russert on Meet the Press in January 2007.

Not surprisingly, in his major national security address today, McCain reflected: “I am an idealist.”

– Joshua Fryer

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