Lindsey Graham: “Let’s Get In on The Ground”
By Anne Laurie October 21st, 2011
Via Charlie Pierce, Think Progress transcribes Lindsay Graham on Fox News, going for the gusto:
“... If we could have kept American air power in the fight it would have been over quicker. Sixty-thousand Libyans have been wounded, 3,000 maimed, 25,000 killed. Let’s get in on the ground. There is a lot of money to be made in the future in Libya. Lot of oil to be produced. Let’s get on the ground and help the Libyan people establish a democracy and a functioning economy based on free market principles.”
I can’t top Mr. Pierce’s summary at Esquire’s Political Blog of Sen. Embarrassment to America:
... Senator Huckleberry Grabitall is an impatient fellow. There’s oil under them corpses, and it’s by god our oil, so we should just go in and drink that damn milkshake before our plucky allies decide that, just because it’s under their sand, they have some sort of legal right to the stuff. Sorry so many of them got killed — Psst! A lot more of them would have been alive if Mighty Man Me had been running things — but we’re past all that now. Sweep ‘em aside and let’s go to work....
You know what? The United States has “a government based on free-market principles” like the one Huckleberry is recommending. Dammit, I think the Libyans can do better.
“Too small for a republic, too large for an insane asylum.” Forget the Palmetto Republic, we’re talking about Lindsey Graham’s ego.
I don’t know why we should concern ourselves with Libyan oil; we have 300 years of energy under our feet if we’d only just drill (using Halliburton as the contractor, of course).
/rick rolling us
October 21st, 2011 at 4:01 pm
I hope to never hear liberal-minded people say that Mittens wouldn’t be that bad as POTUS (believe me, I’ve heard it from people I expected better of):
Romney: Mission not accomplished
October 21st, 2011 at 4:03 pm
Obama to Graham: “Thanks for the political cover. Chavez next?”
October 21st, 2011 at 4:03 pm
How come none of the big MSM has come out and said how embarrassed they are by the statements of Republicans lately? I mean they have seriously come out with some god awful stuff.
October 21st, 2011 at 4:07 pm
@Jack:
I hadn’t heard about the massive popular uprising in Venezuela against Chavez where the UN passed a resolution asking NATO to intervene because Chavez was hiring mercenaries to fight against his own people when his army refused to back him up. Do you have links?
October 21st, 2011 at 4:09 pm
Sheesh, Lindsey, buy ‘em dinner first, why don’t ya?
October 21st, 2011 at 4:11 pm
Wait a minute… from the transcript:
Is Lindsey suggesting that we Americans chip in and help Libya with their infrastructure? Ummmm… what about our infrastructure?
October 21st, 2011 at 4:13 pm
shorter Graham: “Stimulus and jobs for Libyans, but not for Americans until they overthrow the socialist African tyrant Obama.”
October 21st, 2011 at 4:13 pm
I’ll give the Firebaggers this: Unlike they’re Republican allies, who were also quite vocally opposed to any US intervention in Libya, the lefties aren’t now involved in revising the history of this affair.
October 21st, 2011 at 4:15 pm
free market = bomb em, take it, shake yr ass!
October 21st, 2011 at 4:15 pm
@lamh34: Romney can and will and should bitch about what the public is shortly going to realize – that we lost in Iraq and lost big. He’s hoping to tap into the forthcoming burst of public rage over that realization. He will succeed.
Not Obama’s fault, but it doesn’t matter. We got tossed out of Iraq on his watch (and the timing on that deal that Bush signed was quite deliberate) so he’ll be the guy that “lost Iraq” forever.
October 21st, 2011 at 4:17 pm
Morally bankrupt was a term that used to concern me.
Now, I think it lacks the ‘oomph’ requisite to accurately reflect my opinion of the Pubs.
For FSM’s sake, don’t they realize at some point, someone, somewhere is going to use the intertubes to come up with an actual talking picture of them saying this outrageous bullshit?
Can’t wait for the 2012 ads…
Fade in from black.
Closeup of Obama’s face.
“I am President Barack Obama, and I approve wholeheartedly and unequivocally of the following message.”
Ken Burns-esque shot of an irate picture of Romney. Bulging eyes would be good.
Superimposed quote over the foaming at the mouth picture. text: “Mitt Romney stated (then show every date you can find where he stated it), ‘Let the Auto Companies fail’.
Fade in statistic of the total employment picture in regards to all of the tangentally related auto jobs, I expect this to be millions of jobs.
Show the increases of auto business, the additional hiring, building plants, etc.
Fade out. 2 second pause.
Fade back in in red, “Let them fail. – Mitt Romney”.
Fade to black.
That’s it.
Peace,
– NOoC
October 21st, 2011 at 4:18 pm
I literally cannot believe that a U.S. Senator would be comfortable saying this on television.
Between this and Romney’s statement…I don’t know, something has broken down, and I want to say “decorum” but it’s deeper than that.
October 21st, 2011 at 4:19 pm
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again): No. The stupid motherfuckers do want to invent whole new categories of war crimes out of whole cloth for it, though.
October 21st, 2011 at 4:19 pm
Drill Baby, Drill!
October 21st, 2011 at 4:22 pm
F U C K Y O U, Senator Graham. Just F U C K Y O U.
Note: I don’t remember the last time I wrote “fuck” online, but there simply is no other response to this self-righteous POS.
October 21st, 2011 at 4:22 pm
Hey! Finally, a Republican stimulus plan!
October 21st, 2011 at 4:23 pm
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
They don’t have to revise, they already started out with loony toon narratives: “it’s all about the oil”, “it’s an endless war”, “it’s another Iraq/VietNam”, “Impeach HIM!”.
I mean seriously, even the fucking wingers weren’t calling for his impeachment.
October 21st, 2011 at 4:26 pm
Repubs: for it before and after they were against it. Or something. Hold on lemme find out what Rush is saying.
October 21st, 2011 at 4:26 pm
I was wondering why Graham was chiding congressional Republicans yesterday for not supporting Obama on Libya. I guess he was just teeing up the ol’ Freedom Ball™ to take a swing today.
Nice.
October 21st, 2011 at 4:27 pm
When was the last time a prominent Republican was right about something (anything)?
I’m honestly having trouble thinking of anything.
October 21st, 2011 at 4:29 pm
Yes yes! And we’ll name it…Iraq 2.0: if at first you don’t succeed.
October 21st, 2011 at 4:33 pm
He’s just being honest. You’re not supposed to say this stuff out loud, but if you don’t think American multinational corps aren’t angling to make score bigtime blood money right now in Libya…
October 21st, 2011 at 4:35 pm
I think the Obama re-election campaign are ready for any of the GOP nominee, but they expect it to be Romney. But I’m noticing that the campaign aint’ going all out on Romney yet, but when they do, they aren’t giving soft hit either.
From Greg Sargent on twitter:
http://twitter.com/#!/ThePlumL.....8835204096
From BenSmith @politico:
http://twitter.com/#!/benpolit.....6871307264
I think the re-election campaign are obviously more ready than we think. Just biding their time.
October 21st, 2011 at 4:36 pm
Couldn’t we just ship the GOP and their supporters to Libya, airlift out the current population and give them say… South Carolina instead? That way, the crazies get to drill for all the oil their little hearts desire, while moving closer to their Somalian dream, we massively improve the craziest state in the Union, and everyone ought to be happy.
October 21st, 2011 at 4:36 pm
Lindsey Graham makes J.R. Ewing look like Tony Nelson.
October 21st, 2011 at 4:38 pm
Along the lines of war, I just have to say how disappointed I am at not having read about this: http://slog.thestranger.com/sl.....f-punditry here. Most hilarious thing I’ve seen in quite a long time.
Get better soon, JC! The front lines of punditry need you!
October 21st, 2011 at 4:43 pm
Well, SOME COUNTRY OR OTHER, is going to get in on the ground floor. There is no denying that.
Why not the U.S.?
There is a deal to be made – are we quick enough, flexible enough to make it, or will we allow Britian, France, China, to swoop in and steal our thunder?
Look – someone’s gonna grift! Why not U.S.?
October 21st, 2011 at 4:44 pm
@JenJen: What he meant is like what they have been doing to all those third world countries, having the multinational contractors, often invested by US officials and friends, going there to build things that would be paid for by forcing the said country to borrow money from the IMF or World Bank with the conditions that the country would have a complete free market and free trade system, no pesky government regulations of any sort. This way it will be the multinational corporations that would make money and not the citizens of the country.
This is a formula they’ve used over and over again to screw other countries.
October 21st, 2011 at 4:48 pm
@JC: You are not the JC I was looking for. You appear to be the JC that doesn’t learn from people’s mistakes.
October 21st, 2011 at 4:49 pm
@slag:
Heh, what’s funny is, I didn’t see your comment, so in no way was I responding to your prior comment. Just one of those happenstance things.
I’m being tongue in cheek in my reply, but as a serious matter – I do think some country or other is going to come in and grift for their home grown corporations. It’s the way of the world. Very unfortunately.
October 21st, 2011 at 4:53 pm
Lindsey Graham is a vulture. One of many; nothing in particular to distinguish him from the rest, except he’s more stupid than some.
Everybody who votes for Lindsey to Go In On The Ground send a dollar for his one-way ticket.
October 21st, 2011 at 4:57 pm
@The Moar You Know:
We got tossed out of Iraq on his watch (and the timing on that deal that Bush signed was quite deliberate) so he’ll be the guy that “lost Iraq” forever.
But aren’t most people sick of Iraq anyway? I thought I saw a poll a while back that said the majority of Americans want the troops home. If Romney wants to plump for war like it’s 2003 again, fine by me, but I don’t think he’ll find much public support.
October 21st, 2011 at 4:59 pm
I think President Obama should publicly offer Lindsay Graham the position of Ambassador to Libya.
October 21st, 2011 at 5:00 pm
This is, of course, good for Sen. McCain
October 21st, 2011 at 5:04 pm
@JC:
I didn’t assume you were.
No sane person should assume that the US is just going to leave Libya to its own devices. Have we ever left any country to its own devices? But the diplomatic path does not run through Faux News and on to gleefully exclaiming your grift intentions. That is moronic.
October 21st, 2011 at 5:07 pm
@soonergrunt: He won’t accept, there’s not enough gay night clubs in Tripoli.
October 21st, 2011 at 5:10 pm
@Meg: Ohhhhhhh. Well that sounds absolutely scam-tastic. Lindsey Graham is a douchecanoe.
October 21st, 2011 at 5:13 pm
sounds like Lindsey needs to be our point man in Mogadishu…. plenty of opportunity there for a fella with a sparkle in his eye and a mind for business.
October 21st, 2011 at 5:14 pm
@Jenny: ohhh, burn.
October 21st, 2011 at 5:16 pm
@The Moar You Know:
How do you figure? The war in Iraq is extremely unpopular and has been since well before Bush left office. I really don’t see a huge upswing of patriotic fervor in its favor just because we’re finally leaving.
October 21st, 2011 at 5:16 pm
@JenJen: Republicans/GOP: Country First… Unless Its The United States.
October 21st, 2011 at 5:34 pm
I wonder how the folks who were praising Britain and France for their leadership will feel when said countries get first dibs on the bubbling crude. My guess is some combination of butt and hurt.
October 21st, 2011 at 5:38 pm
I’m listening to my sketchy voiced Senator Ayotte declaring that we must keep American’s in Iraq.
What a fucking tool.
October 21st, 2011 at 5:40 pm
Someone needs to explain to Lindsey that since we have so few working in this country, we don’t need so much stinkin’ oil. With industry in the tank, with the Republicans making certain that no jobs are created before the next election to assure their win, oil ain’t so important.
October 21st, 2011 at 5:40 pm
@Mnemosyne: Not only that, but the leaving will be quiet and orderly. No big scramble like Vietnam, which is when the geopolitical ideas of the Republican Party have stopped developing and stopped being relevant. I envision the last soldiers coming out like this:
New Years Eve: the last troops are on tv standing around with their gear and a bottle of hoarded champagne at the Iraqi border. The minute they cross the Iraqi border at midnight, they stop, open up the champagne, toast in front of the cameras, and with the one troop that isn’t tipsy, head to the plane for that great ride home. That’s the end of it all.
Meanwhile behind them, there’s gunfire, but it’s not directed at anyone. It’s Iraqis firing in the air, setting off firecrackers, and banging pots and pans in celebration of the end of the war.
Poor Romney. Hoping for chaos he won’t get.
October 21st, 2011 at 5:44 pm
[...] Annie Laurie, here is a partial transcript: If we could have kept American air power in the fight it would have [...]
October 21st, 2011 at 5:49 pm
@CarolDuhart:
Yeah, I just don’t see scenes like this or this happening as the US leaves Baghdad. Without those, the Republicans are going to have a hard time selling the notion that our leaving Iraq was a bad idea.
October 21st, 2011 at 5:50 pm
saw this earlier at work and…
President Graham, upon election can direct his own foriegn policy and until then…STFU
October 21st, 2011 at 5:56 pm
Given our long and successful experience establishing democracy elsewhere and the stellar management of things [at home], it’s no wonder Libya’s new leaders are interested in various types of US aid but not “assistance” in how to set up a democracy.
October 21st, 2011 at 5:56 pm
@Mnemosyne: And after 10 years and 10 weeks of withdrawal, there will be few left to make such a scene even plausible. Over the next month there will be a scramble to get home before Thanksgiving, the remaining crowd before Christmas: after December 25 a race to leave before New Year’s Eve. On the 31st of December, the only folks left will be a handful of absolutely necessary personnel and those going to work at the Embassy.
October 21st, 2011 at 6:10 pm
Somebody needs to tell the new Libyan government that they are sitting on a lot of oil that needs to be developed. Post haste. I’m sure they didn’t even know their country was a member of OPEC. I bet they thought they were the chief wine exporting country. That’s how dumb the Libyans are. <>
October 21st, 2011 at 6:13 pm
@GregB:
There are just so many ways to ask that follow up question. I bet it gets asked “0” times.
If I was following Blitzer correctly, we need to be worried about “So many unanswered questions about the future of Iraq.” (Although he didn’t say what the questions were). I guess his magic 8 ball isn’t working since I think everythings been wrapped up and answered sufficiently.
No loose ends. Series jumped the shark, ratings in the tank for awhile. I don’t even think there’s a need to have a movie with the original stars in a few years to please what remaining fans this invasion has at this point.
October 21st, 2011 at 6:22 pm
Naomi Klein, “The Shock Doctrine”.
Gratituously, hideously right about all this.
The wonder is that they are so brazen about it, but I doubt they even register how shocking they’re being- and the backlash is already well in place. This isn’t the world it was ten years ago, when these people truly ruled.
October 21st, 2011 at 6:36 pm
If Halliburton or Bechtel or whoever wants to go after rebuilding Libya’s infrastructure, more power to them. But why does the US government have to be involved? Surely the invisible hand of the market works in Libya, too. As far as the oil is concerned, once things settle down, it will be flowing as fast as it was under Ghaddafi, with or without us. Since oil is fungible, the price won’t change whether it goes to BP, Shell, or Exxon. Of course, to Republicans, the entire focus of US foreign policy should be whatever benefits multi-national corporations.
October 21st, 2011 at 7:05 pm
amazing how quick lindsay is with the libya casualty figures, meanwhile, in iraq, every iraqi casualty figure was grossly overblown, nobody could know for sure, etc.
October 21st, 2011 at 8:46 pm
Getting out of an unpopular war and being labeled as having lost that war are two entirely different things. I would have thought that those of you who lived through Vietnam would have understood that.
October 21st, 2011 at 8:49 pm
[...] Annie Laurie, here is a partial transcript: If we could have kept American air power in the fight it would have [...]
October 26th, 2011 at 7:50 am