Brian Beutler on Crooked summed up Senator Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) fairly awful position a week or two ago:
Maybe Graham is telling the truth, and maybe he isn’t, but either way, the ongoing “shithole countries” fiasco underscores something that should have been clear to all thinking Republicans a long time ago: Debasing yourself for the opportunity to bend Trump’s ear is an extremely stupid idea that will leave you debased without the upside of lasting presidential attention or loyalty. By the same token, the Republican congressional leaders who have given Trump free rein to engage in unprecedented corruption, in tacit exchange for control over the policymaking process, have assumed all the downside of complicity in Trump’s crimes without securing the means of assuring Trump won’t foul up policy anyhow. They have all committed reputational suicide-by-Trump, in exchange for practically nothing. As a result, Graham stands to be outflanked by people who are willing to be more shameless than he is, and who will in turn trap their weak leaders into shutting down their own government by the end of the week.
Perhaps Senator Graham should try being a Senator and not a Party hack. You know, give the bills your mature attention, politic within the Senate, but ignore the President. You can’t predict what he’ll do next, so simply concentrate on being a good Senator.
Oh, wait. I see he was part of the Letter to Iran tomfoolery. I’m afraid we can’t expect much out of him.
