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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe Senator Who Is Betraying the Senate
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/01/lindsey-graham-wall/581500/The Senator Who Is Betraying the Senate
Instead of protecting Congresss power, Lindsey Graham is urging Trump to undermine it in his pursuit of a wall.
7:33 AM ET
Conor Friedersdorf
Staff writer at The Atlantic
Lindsey Graham
Leah Millis / Reuters
On Monday, Senator Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican, reiterated a position that cuts against the core of the Constitution. President Donald Trump must invoke emergency powers to construct a border wall, he wrote, if the White House and Congress fail to reach a deal. The comment allies Graham with some immigration hard-liners in the Republican Party and is perhaps intended to avert another pointless government shutdown. But it marks a betrayal of Congress.
A border wall would be a major budget item, a transformative piece of infrastructure, and an impingement on the property rights of thousands of American citizens. Less than one-third of the needed land is currently owned by the federal government, explains Ilya Somin, a law professor at George Mason University. The restas much as 1,300 milesis held by private owners, Native American tribes, and state governments, many of whom are unlikely to sell voluntarily. Even if the wall does not cover the full 2,000 miles because it excludes some areas, such as those that have natural barriers, many property owners will have to be displaced.
Even when Republicans held both houses of Congress, they failed to approve funding for the wall that the Trump administration wants to build. Whats more, nearly two-thirds of Americans surveyed in a new poll said they are against President Trump declaring a national emergency to direct the construction of a wall along the southern border, The Hill reports, almost twice the amount of those in favor of it. The prospect of a president embarking on a major initiative unilaterally, against the popular will, and seizing thousands of parcels of private property in the process is why we have a Congress to check him.
The Framers assumed that those elected to the co-equal branch would jealously guard their power, at times even to excess. Instead, Graham has become so focused on currying favor with the president that he is betraying one of his core constitutional responsibilities in order to play sycophant. In doing so, he is exacerbating an imperial presidency that grew under Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. Each abuse builds on the next, writes David French, who concludes, The loser is our constitutional republic.
It is bad enough when presidents, their staffers, and their apologists undermine the separation of powers in favor of the executive branch. It is even worse when a legislator joins in undermining his own branch. There is only one position for a responsible U.S. senator: If the White House fails to reach a deal with Congress on a border wall, it simply doesnt happen.
a kennedy
(29,707 posts)With Barrs confirmation being postponed.......may-be not confirmed.......ah is Graham gonna be sent up for a vote?? Or am I way, way, way off. Heard rumblings about grahams name being in contention previously.
47of74
(18,470 posts)Fuzzpope
(602 posts)Is a scourge, ffs why cant we rid the country of this piece of walking shit?
jmowreader
(50,562 posts)And the only way to have him removed is through Congress. One must be a serious crook to have that happen - Jim Traficant was the last.
DonViejo
(60,536 posts)struggle4progress
(118,338 posts)UpInArms
(51,284 posts)December 14, 2016
"I do believe the Russians hacked into the (Democratic National Committee). I do believe they hacked into (John) Podesta's email account. They hacked into my campaign account," he told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on "The Situation Room." "I do believe that all the information released publicly hurt Clinton and didn't hurt Trump. I don't think the outcome of the election is in doubt. What we should do is not turn on each other but work as one people to push back on Russia."
He added he doesn't believe that the hacking affected the elections.
Proud Liberal Dem
(24,437 posts)and he just admitted it that it did!
deurbano
(2,895 posts)Proud Liberal Dem
(24,437 posts)Proud Liberal Dem
(24,437 posts)McConnell has apparently decided that he will only pass things that he thinks or knows Trump will sign (and has apparently forgotten about that whole 2/3 Majority Override thingy in the Constitution).
Too bad McConnell, Graham, et. al weren't so deferential to President Obama when he was in office.
Hermit-The-Prog
(33,414 posts)calimary
(81,466 posts)BigmanPigman
(51,627 posts)article about Mitch's Russian ties as well as Lindsey.
https://www.dailykos.com/story/2019/1/28/1830431/-Mitch-McConnell-now-tied-to-Putin-Oleg-Deripaska-and-Russian-companies-after-lifting-sanctions
"...longtime business associate of Russian oligarchs Oleg Deripaska and Viktor Vekselberg, both of whom have ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin."
"Along with McConnell, Republican Senators Marco Rubio and Lindsey Graham received hefty sums from Blavatnik as well."
"Lindsey Graham? That story needs to be written and/or revisited."
bdamomma
(63,922 posts)both Lindsey and McConnell will be going down.
orleans
(34,073 posts)here is the dallas news link
https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2017/12/15/putins-proxies-helped-funnel-millions-gop-campaigns
calimary
(81,466 posts)Dec 15 2017.
More than a year. And only now am I seeing it starting to surface.
orleans
(34,073 posts)NNadir
(33,545 posts)...excuse for a human being.
It's clear he lacks a shred of integrity, but that's probably OK in that part of the country nostalgic for human slavery.
RAB910
(3,509 posts)But I guess with him it's more he has betrayed the entire Country
OMGWTF
(3,975 posts)BamaRefugee
(3,487 posts)Sen. Richard Shelby (Ala.), Steve Daines (Mont.), John Thune (S.D.), John Kennedy (La.), Jerry Moran (Kan.) and John Hoeven (N.D.)
Power 2 the People
(2,437 posts)Response to babylonsister (Original post)
Name removed Message auto-removed
TomSlick
(11,109 posts)I don't know what it is - and prefer not to speculate - but Putin's got something that has Graham terrified. I can find no other reasonable explanation for his actions.