‹ Yet one more diversion for those without a life •
Senator Lindsay Graham of South Carolina is not on my list of favorite Republicans. His record, on the whole, portrays a distinct lack of principles and of a thought-through intellectual framework. Politicians are politicians, and one cannot expect ideological purity. Nor is ideological purity necessarily good, when the ideological prism by which one can guide one’s analysis turns into an ideological prison that stifles the flexibility that is often needed to address real world problems. There are politicians who can strike just the right balance in substance and tone to avoid appearing too “political.” Graham cannot do that. He exudes a certain smarminess that is offputting, and, fairly or not, makes him appear unprincipled.
That said, he usually votes positions that I favor. More important, on occasion he shines. His cross-examination of Sonia Sotomayor was excellent. The following video is even better. Graham, a former member of the JAG, absolutely dismantles Attorney General Eric Holder’s decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in the civilian federal court. Holder comes across as ignorant and ill-prepared. At best. Holder, more than any critics, or even Graham himself, demonstrates that there is no legal basis, and certainly no legal necessity, for that decision.
“The facts of life are conservative.” - Margaret Thatcher
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