Waiting for Bush-inspired applause

June 1, 2008

Ouch. (via TP)

[Sen. Lindsey] Graham used his remarks to embrace President Bush, just hours before he was to meet Bush at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport and accompany him to Furman University for a presidential commencement address that has divided the campus.

At his first mention of Bush’s visit, Graham paused, waiting for applause. When it didn’t come, it took a slight nod from Graham to prompt a round of applause. [emphasis added]

“President Bush is my friend,” he continued, “and I’m not going to run away from the friend.”

Graham credited Bush with preventing additional attacks on the U.S. since 9/11, cutting taxes three times and successfully nominating Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“History is going to judge him a lot better than everybody thinks,” Graham predicted.

Sure, Lindsey. Keep telling yourself that.

Keep in mind, this wasn’t just some random stop on the campaign trail. This was the South Carolina State Republican Convention. In other words, these are die-hard GOP loyalists in one of the nation’s most reliably-Republican states. We’re talking redder than red here.

And this comes just a week after Still-President Bush couldn’t generate much interest in a fundraiser for John McCain in Arizona (a state Bush carried twice by large margins), with the event having to be moved from the Phoenix Convention Center to a local private residence.

As for Graham, he’s in a bit of a pickle as he seeks re-election this year. He is not, at this point, the most popular lawmaker in the state’s delegation among rank-and-file Republicans. Graham currently faces a primary challenge from Buddy Witherspoon, who retired from the state Republican Party Executive Committee to take on the incumbent.

Witherspoon has sought to portray Graham as a liberal who is soft on illegal immigration.

Outside the meeting hall, his supporters planted signs reading, “Lindsey is too Liberal for South Carolina.”

Graham, meanwhile, is counting on Bush’s popularity in the state to give him a boost.

In all likelihood, Graham should cruise to an easy victory in the GOP primary. But if he’s counting on tying himself to Bush, Graham may want to consider a Plan B.

I posted this in yesterday’s thread – we all know chimpy is unpopular. He is a war criminal and has committed treason and crimes against humanity.

He is widely disliked around the world. He is the most unpopular president in US history. Two points:

(1). He is not really our problem – its the folks that are behind the criminality. Sure, cheney, rummy, rove all have culpability – but he is working on behalf of economic/political interests. Until we overwhelm them at the polls, we do not actually change anything just because his term ends.

(2). As bad as this administration has been for the US and the world, we need to see this as an opportunity. If we work hard and get REAL progressives out to vote (remember, only about half of America votes for president – these are “banana republic” numbers), we can win without the support of the most uneducated, racist voters.

Historic opportunity – dur chimpfurher doesn’t even have strong support within his party and mclame is running on more of the same – a third term. He can’t win an honest election.

We can work with and shape Obama’s campaign to support liberal/progressive values. We can no longer afford to let bigoted, uninformed voters decide the next POTUS. We cannot achieve positive change by triangulating with repug/neocons.

The first step is to purge the party of voters that were not really democratic party supporters in the first place. We can win an honest election in 2008 without them.

  • I posted this downstairs yesterday – better late than never. All the more reason that we shouldn’t pay attention to kkkarl rove and rush limbaugh – 2 of shillary’s greatest advocates.

    Even morons like mark crayon should be able to see that – but don’t count on it. They are sore losers that would rather proclaim they were right (with kkkarl rove and rush limbaugh at their side) than see change.

    America overwhelmingly wants change yet some stooooooopid people still chant

    BUSH – CLINTON – BUSH – CLINTON

    The good news is that Obama can win without the bigoted, stoooooopid vote that is held in such high esteem here.

  • Once again, the differences between Bush and Graham are miniscule. And yet, the Dems have two guys running to oppose him. One, Michael Cone, has raised $11,429 with 9,500 debt and $109 on hand. The other, Bob Conley, has raised $10,200, with 2,400 debt and $42 on hand. Sheesh!

  • With every day passing, we are like the Texas Rangers of yesteryear – knowing the boss is a bum, and just waiting for new management to take over. Well, we all are waiting for January 9th, 2009. Until then silence is our best polite response at the moment. -Kevo

  • oh, and lit. bear please stay on topic. Your observations tend to deviate from topic relevancy. -Kevo

  • History must be getting so tired of having political bozos try to speak for it.

    Cheney, Bush and now Graham are like ventriloquists trying to give History the voice of a Bushie.

  • Graham currently faces a primary challenge from Buddy Witherspoon, who retired from the state Republican Party Executive Committee to take on the incumbent.

    If Jesus Christ himself were running for a statewide office as a Democrat here in South Carolina, and a fresh dog turd was the Republican candidate, well … Jesus might pull out the win, but it’d be a close race.

    So the only way Lindsey Graham will lose his Senate seat here is if he’s challenged by another Republican.

    Witherspoon, though, is probably too loopy even for South Carolina.

  • Pfluger speaks the truth and people become unraveled. Good for Pfluger. HRC entire course of action has been one of “I’m entitled to be president” and the nomination process has – in her and retinue’s mind– was preliminary to her coronation. The next person that needs to be cast in to the light is Obama; as his wife is of the opinion that she and Obama are entitled.

  • The first step is to purge the party of voters

    Da, Komrade Stalin!

    Any chance we could purge these comment threads of circa-’99-style Battle-in-Seattle rhetoric?

  • History will certainly not be kind to Bush. Let’s fast-forward twenty years to see how his deficit still dictates our national security.

  • Pfluger is a clown that should be slapped. He should also be paying taxes if he thinks he should dictate politics. I’m a white male that fully supported Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and my senator from Massachusetts, John Kerry. But now I support Barak Obama, regardless of his color or experience. It’s his candor that I appreciate.

    And Obama still has far more experience at everthing that the one term gov from Texas had when he sought his presidentialness.

  • Outside the meeting hall, his supporters planted signs reading, “Lindsey is too Liberal for South Carolina.”

    Proof of what happens with ten generations of hillbilly incest.

    Andrew Jackson should have ethnically cleansed South Carolina – the most useless, treasonous swamp in America – back when he had the chance to hang John C. Calhoun and the rest of the traitors.

  • in 1984, when i lived in winston-salem, jesse helms’ ads called then-gov jim hunt “too liberal for north carolina” in their senate race. i told people i was voting for hunt “because he was the closest thing to a democrat i could find on the ballot.”

  • “History is going to judge him a lot better than everybody thinks,” Graham predicted.

    Sounds plausible. In just the last seven years, my estimation of Herbert Hoover, Warren G. Harding, James Buchanan, and George H.W. Bush has increased slightly. Same thing could happen for Dubya. Though I hope it won’t come to that.

  • The first step is to purge the party of voters that were not really democratic party supporters in the first place. We can win an honest election in 2008 without them.

    Disagree completely. The country and world absolutely need every Democrat we can get this year to take advantage of the Republicans’ failures and subsequent disarray. I’m not very happy with DLC Democrats either but this is the worst time possible to start organizing circular firing squads.

  • It’s interesting that Bush couldn’t draw much support for his fundraiser in Arizona because he’s Bush, but even more interesting that he couldn’t draw support for McCain in McCain’s home state. It just makes me want to put on dancing shoes so I can dance on the grave of the Republican Party. Good riddance to bad rubbish!

  • Seems to me that if Lindsay Girl’s opponent were smart he would use an old GOP standby: the gay menace card. That should be enough to scare the bigots to the voting booth. Could the voters in South Carolina be that blind to not know that their senator is gay? I often wonder if the character of Beverly Leslie was somehow an homage to Graham. “Well, well, well.”

  • “…The good news is that Obama can win without the bigoted, stoooooopid vote that is held in such high esteem here…” little bear

    Apparently he can win with it toooooo with you as a supporter.

    Seriously…how far right can one get to call Graham too liberal for South Carolina.

    “History is going to judge him a lot better than everybody thinks,” Graham predicted.
    That should put him on par with a child molester if it’s better than everybody thinks.
    Graham should move into that Baghdad market place he visits so often. Send Webb some postcards of the dog and pony show. Did South Carolina ever become part of the Union…for real. Graham and Lieberman sitting in a Baghdad tree…yeah, that’s the ticket.

  • Danp said:
    Once again, the differences between Bush and Graham are miniscule. And yet, the Dems have two guys running to oppose him. One, Michael Cone, has raised $11,429 with 9,500 debt and $109 on hand. The other, Bob Conley, has raised $10,200, with 2,400 debt and $42 on hand. Sheesh!

    The long-running Clinton and Obama contest has sucked all the energy out of Democratic voters, who might otherwise be donating to the DNC. Once we have a nominee, I hope the DNC can make up the difference and help out. Because, right now, I believe the DNC has about $5 million on hand?

  • #16 Shalimar said:
    The first step is to purge the party of voters that were not really democratic party supporters in the first place. We can win an honest election in 2008 without them.

    Disagree completely. The country and world absolutely need every Democrat we can get this year to take advantage of the Republicans’ failures and subsequent disarray. I’m not very happy with DLC Democrats either but this is the worst time possible to start organizing circular firing squads.

    I’d really like to get rid of the Blue Dog Democrats. If a progressive Democrat is running against them and we can do it, why not?

  • Whoops, my reply to Shalimar shouldn’t be italic. Here it is again: I’d really like to get rid of the Blue Dog Democrats. If a progressive Democrat is running against them and we can do it, why not?

  • This kind of theing is the reason wy Bush is at 28%.

    The number of supporters is actually much lower, but they don’t say so for the sake of not completely humiliating their party.
    If I recall correctly, the president with teh lowest approval ratings was a Democrat

  • “Well, we all are waiting for January 9th, 2009.”

    With all due respect, why is everyone talking about January 9th, 2009? That is not the day that the new President gets sworn in. It is January 20th. It has been that way since FDR when the 20th amendment to the Constitution was ratified to change the date for the Presidential inauguration.

  • indeed 1/20/09 is inauguration day. i think his point was more important than the date

  • I’m a democrat, but got a republican ticket to vote against Lindsay Graham.

    I would love to see the WHOLE Boosh gang voted out of the Whitehouse!!

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