The Real Reason McCain-Graham Attacked Ted Cruz
In January, Senator McCain aggressively grilled retired Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) during Hagel’s Defense secretary confirmation hearings. Formerly close, the friendship ended when Hagel refused to endorse McCain for president in 2008. McCain asked excellent questions — hard-hitting and appropriate. When Hagel could not answer, McCain was openly hostile.
That weekend, McCain and Graham hit the Sunday talk show circuit expressing justifiable concern about Hagel’s qualifications for the job. But when Senator Cruz later asked Hagel equally hard-hitting questions in an Armed Services Committee meeting, McCain and Graham publicly raked him over the coals for being too tough on Hagel.
This left Beltway insiders and regular folk scratching their heads. Unless, of course, they remembered Cruz’s Bush association.
An energetic, principled Republican triumvirate has emerged quickly in the newest Senate as Rand Paul (R-KY), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Cruz consolidate conservative energy without the intrigue, backstabbing, and looting of the Imperial treasury that so hampered Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey.
Spawned by John Brennan’s role as Obama counterterrorism chief in crafting policy on drones over the homeland, this week Senator Paul — with the assistance of Cruz and Rubio — filibustered Brennan’s nomination to head the CIA. America was cheering from its living room. Facebook and Twitter were on fire. The three young senators delivered a thirteen-hour primer on Constitutional governance with grace, humor, and brilliance that rekindled hope in our future and interest in foundational American rights.
So naturally, Lindsey Graham appeared on the Senate floor the next morning with a ridiculous sign comparing Americans killed in the U.S. by al-Qaeda (2,958) vs. drones (0.) He and Senator McCain spent the day following cameras to explain the inspirational filibuster was “ill-informed” while telegraphing civil liberties are less important than delivering a comeuppance to usurpers Paul, Rubio — and Cruz.
The GOP symbol is an elephant, and elephants never forget. But when a bull’s memories cause harm to fellow elephants, it’s time to move on and let the next generation assume leadership of the herd.
I think part of the problem is that many on the right do want a police state, with no rights, if they can think it can save them from "terrorism"
To quote Heinlein
"“Political tags — such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and so forth — are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire"
Many of those on the right simply want to be the ones controlling.
And the fact that McCain holds a grudge against his more succesful former opponents' underlings is pretty revealing of a Nixonian character that speaks to the flawed judgment of the GOP establishment in choosing this Loser to be the GOP nominee.
The fact of the matter is that the GOP has an excellent "bench", but it won't matter if none of them ever get out of the bullpen.
I liked your comment about Ds and Rs being like the offense and the defense, because they both play for the Ruling Class team. However, I think they are more like the Harlem Globetrotters and the Washington Generals: they pretend to keep it close until the vote nears, and then Obama dribbles through the entire RINO defense to scoren untouched!
Then, to have bucked the tax-cuts, forcing them to be temporary, created a host of down-stream problems for his party, and the country.
He needed to have retired in 2010, and hopefully the people of SC will show the door to his buddy, and John will get the hint.
Unfortunately, the performance of "leading" Republicans over the last several months has caused me to re-evaluate. Now, I seriously doubt that I will ever again vote for a Republican, either.
Some may say that this renders my vote irrelevant, since third-party candidates cannot be elected. So be it. The two major parties are irrevocably out-of-touch with the American people, and any vote for them simply supports the status quo. It is going to take a major shake-up - economic collapse, mass civil disobedience or civil war - to "clear the deck" and allow this country to be returned to Constitutional control.