Leading GOP senator ignites outcry over comments about “getting over” Linc

[MelissaB]

Exclusive: Leading GOP senator ignites outcry over comments about “getting over” Lincoln

GOP senator Graham rankles some over comments on Lincoln

By John Byrne | RAW STORY Editor

Senator Lindsey Graham has ignited a new furor in Washington over comments he made over the weekend referring to his state’s difficulty in “getting over” President Abraham Lincoln, with apparent reference to Lincoln’s role in the civil war and the freeing of American slaves, RAW STORY has learned.

“We don’t do Lincoln Day Dinners in South Carolina,” Senator Graham told a Lincoln Day gathering in Tennessee Saturday. “It’s nothing personal, but it takes awhile to get over things.”

According to a Knoxville News Sentinel article published Sunday, Graham entertained an amicable crowd and joked about his predecessor in the Senate, former Sen. Strom Thurmond.

“In theory, I have 50 more years left in the Senate,” Graham remarked.

More: http://rawstory.com/news/2005/index.php?p=158

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

1. He Longs For The Days Of Slavery

Oh, the good times. When rich, arrogant, lying bastards like himself could have a colored slave do everything for him, and get paid NOTHING for it. Ah, and no minimum wage hassles.

[donheld]

13. OK fine, I'll take Mr Graham into slavery

he can serve me for awhile. We'll see if he misses slavery after that.

[Skip Intro]

2. I'm live in SC, and let me be the first to say

fuck you Lindsey Graham. I remember you from the persecution of Bill Clinton, and from seeing how far you could cram you head up traitor bush's ass.

The south may rise again, but it won't be the south you long for.

[robbedvoter]

17. And confirms Conason's theory that Clinton's persecution was based

on racism. became political but the champions were of this particular ilk - the ones who can't get over losing the civil war, but want us to get over winning 2 presidential elections.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

21. Do tell. What did Conason say?

[trogdor]

46. Well, without having heard the entire thing in context...

...I'd say Sen. Graham is right. You oughta know that, since you live there. Many South Carolinians are indeed closet Confederates. How do you account for people like Maurice Bessinger?

/lived in Columbia from 1986 to 1992.

[napi21]

47. You're absolutely right! I lived in SC 1987 to 1993.

I lived near Greenville, and found there were three different Couth Carolinians. White, born there, and Confederates, Non Whites, born there, and totally anti Confederates, and transplants who don't understand either local group!

I never did understand the love/hate relationship with the Confederate flag, KK meetings openly advertised in the newspaper, and mostly held on weekends, declaring alcohol as the devil water, but insisting they keep the damn mini bottle laws which make each drink with 1/2 ounce more liquor, and all gambling is the devils game, but bingo's on every corner are just fine!

The whole state is nuts!

[trogdor]

48. At least they got rid of video poker.

I think the last Democratic governor of that state pretty much committed political suicide over that one. He was right to get rid of it, though; it's been said that video poker is the crack cocaine of gambling, and people would routinely lose the rent money at video poker. I was down there a couple of years ago, and the trashiness was absolutely appalling. You'd have a little strip with the payday lender, right next to the video poker parlor, which in turn is next to the check cashing place. Every mile or so on Two Notch Road in Columbia. Not pretty.

[AlCzervik]

3. Jeezus, what the hell?

[MelissaB]

6. I'm wondering the same thing.

:shrug:

[Erika]

4. He's a product of Bob Jones "Christian" University

Just another compassionate Christian conservative. What else needs to be said.

[Pepperbelly]

27. Actually ... he didn't go to Bob Jones ...

He went to the University of South Carolina, undegrad and law school.

-snip-

A native South Carolinian, Graham grew up in Central, graduated from D.W. Daniel High School, and earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of South Carolina in Columbia.

http://lgraham.senate.gov/index.cfm?mode=bio

[Erika]

32. He & Ashcroft only received "honorary" degrees from BJU

The Hutchinsons received actual degrees.

[Pepperbelly]

42. I know ...

I have been burdened with the Hutchinsons for years.

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[MelissaB]

7. Come on, now!

I'm in the South and hate this shit. I teach and try to educate students about their "views" all the time. It's not an easy battle.

[Wilms]

10. Really. If anything, people ought to say something like...

Free the South.

Why act as if Bush got 100% of the southern vote. :shrug:

Don't worry MG. I'll bet many of your students grow up to be decent progressives.

[TankLV]

59. It's hard to indict any one geographic locality anymore.

Racism and bogotry has spread to every square inch of this once great country.

And thanks to bushco, it's more in the open now.

Don't make me tell you about growing up in Buffalo and it's suburbs. There were some very interesting police "problems" at all too regular occurances.

And do you know that the Las Vegas metro police department is the only department in the world with a perfect record regarding misconduct and illegal activities? And no, it's not due to the fact that their saints - far from it. Not a single complaint that's been filed against them has ever been upheld. NONE. That should tell you something!

[Skip Intro]

9. Lot of good people in the south, Unity

including me.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

22. Sadly, Lincoln mishandled the Civil War and let....

such CRIMNALS as Bobby Lee and Jefferson Davis free.

edit:
Also, how can anyone think that the south is more "Patriotic" than the rest of the country? Gee, Zell, I don't really want to pander to your HATE in order to win an election.
:puke:

[Media_Lies_Daily]

28. Oh, boy....who wants to be the first to let him know about....

...Stonewall Jackson? You do know that he was killed during the Civil War, don't you? Does Chancellorsville ring a bell?

Do they still teach History in school?

By the way, did you know that Robert E. Lee was the first officer to be offered the command of the UNION army outside Washington, DC? Funny, the Union didn't think he was a traitor then. And they didn't imprison Lee after the war because they had too much respect for the old general to have done that to him.

Of course, it was a different time back then where the enemies actually respected each other, and most had relatives fighting for the other side. Most people were not as mean-spirited back then as most people are today.

Oh, yeah...Lincoln didn't get the chance to take care of the Reconstruction in the way he would have liked to have seen it handled. People that think like you conspired to have Lincoln assassinated because he wasn't going to grind the South into the ground. That happened after Lincoln was killed.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

26. I find it interesting that your board name means nothing, nothing at all.

[Rex]

8. They can't get over the war of northern aggression

or as sane people call it - the Civil War.

Now Strom was so old that I right here expected him to still resent Grant (probably served as a foot soldier). This Graham fellas to young to care about what happened 140 years ago. I reckon he's just another racist asshole.

[booksenkatz]

11. Poor textile monkeys, suffering from slavery withdrawal. Boohoo. NT

[MelissaB]

12. Read the Editor's Note. I didn't see this before.

Editor’s Note: Some have asked for greater conext of Sen. Graham’s remarks. Here are the four relevant paragraphs from the Knoxville News Sentinel article, for those who aren’t able to read the registration-restricted article:

Graham warmed the crowd with a collection of jokes and anecdotes he acknowledged using for his more than 13 years in politics, many poking fun at his predecessor, former Sen. Strom Thurmond.

“In theory, I have 50 more years left in the Senate,” he quipped.

The University of South Carolina graduate also acknowledged his home state’s reluctance to hold a Lincoln Day Dinner.

“We don’t do Lincoln Day Dinners in South Carolina,” he said. “It’s nothing personal, but it takes awhile to get over things.”

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

14. Oh...So He Was Just Imitating Another Racist. n/t

[area51]

19. for registration-restricted articles

To read registration-restricted articles w/o giving away personal info, people can try BugMeNot. (& no, I don't work for them).

---

"Prosperity is just around the corner." -- Herbert Hoover
"The economy has turned a corner." -- GW Bush

Herbert Hoover = GW Bush

Neither man cared about the Depression their economic policies created.

[The Backlash Cometh]

15. Keep it up Lindsey. Southerners aren't the only ones who can hold

a grudge.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

20. A dispise the South and anything that is part of Southern "Culture".

:puke:

[Name removed]

16. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

25. To take the comments or actions of a few people like Graham and....

...act like the ENTIRE South believes the way they do is really mean-spirited and ignorant. Here are a few points for you to consider:

*Nearly 35% of the South is Black....do you really think they wanted to see Herr Busch and his merry little gang of malcontents steal another election? How is it possible that at least 40-45%, perhaps more, of the "SHAMFUL and UNAMERICAN" South voted AGAINST Herr Busch?

*Speaking of the last election, what percentage of the Northeast Region voted for Herr Busch? Wasn't it 40% or more?

*What percentage of the Northwest Region voted for Herr Busch? Wasn't it at least 40%?

*Let's cut to the chase...out of all of the states that ended up voting for Herr Busch, what percentage voted AGAINST Herr Busch?

Except for the five years I was in the service, I've lived in the South my entire life. I was also born in the South. My ancestors were dirt-poor farmers living in Virginia and Kentucky during the Civil War. They fought against the Union because the Union invaded their states, burned their farms, stole their livestock, and ate their crops. To them, the Civil War had nothing to do with slavery, but had everything to do with being invaded, conquered, and then occupied for twenty years following the war.

What you stated in your post only makes YOU look "SHAMFUL and UNAMERICAN", not to mention mean-spirited and ignorant. It is comments like your post that cause additional friction and even more hatred where none was needed in the first place.

[roguevalley]

23. Good. Its gotten big.

[Leilani]

24. My impression is that he's insulting South Carolina

& showing how out of touch they are..."it takes a while to get over things" sounds like a sacastic put-down.

[Cheney Killed Bambi]

29. GOP Senator Ignites Outcry over Comments on Lincoln

Senator Lindsey Graham has ignited a new furor in Washington over comments he made over the weekend referring to his state’s difficulty in “getting over” President Abraham Lincoln, with apparent reference to Lincoln’s role in the civil war and the freeing of American slaves, RAW STORY has learned.

“We don’t do Lincoln Day Dinners in South Carolina,” Senator Graham told a Lincoln Day gathering in Tennessee Saturday. “It’s nothing personal, but it takes awhile to get over things.”

. . . .

The Democratic National Committee said Sen. Graham’s remarks were inappropriate and that they echoed comments made by former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS), which resulted in Lott’s removal as Senate leader.

“Joke or not, this is exactly the type of comment that Trent Lott made when he was deposed as leader,” said DNC spokesman Jano Cabrera. “It has no place in public discourse.”

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/index.php?p=158

[Fenris]

30. God what a douche.

Real classy, asshole.

[hezekkia]

54. why is what he said controversial?

It seems like he's making fun of his state for not being able to get over Lincoln and the Civil War. Dont get your panties in a knot-- you'll be no better than the republicans who got all pissy about Dean's comments re: the only blacks who would show up to a republican event would be the hotel wait staff.

[TankLV]

60. I took it to mean that it was time they dumped their phoney admiration for

him and really openly embraced the bigoted racist views they secretly hold dear and be the proud bigots and racists that the GOP really stands for!

On that, I believe he is right.

[jefferson_dem]

31. Carrying the torch for mentor and uber-bigot STROM i see...!

n/t

[Disturbed]

34. How long was the contract that the Southern States signed?

Could they not have sued to get out of the contract instead of having a war with the other states?

[AspenRose]

39. I say let him keep talking...open mouth and insert foot

“Joke or not, this is exactly the type of comment that Trent Lott made when he was deposed as leader,” said DNC spokesman Jano Cabrera. “It has no place in public discourse.”


Nah, let him keep incriminating himself in public for who he really is and what he really stands for. (Keep the rest of innocent southerners out of it.)

[MADem]

41. Wow, two down, how many more to go??

This is a long range Democratic plan--insert minor level speechwriters into GOP dens of power, and insure they write "clever" jokes that will appeal to the politician's sick sense of humor, and later result in a negative news story! One by one, they fall, a pattern emerges, the nation awakes, and they are all voted out of office. Trent is safe for now, even though he lost his good job, but who knows, if enough of them show their race cards, he could fall eventually.

Hey, it's fiction, but it's good enough to wish it to be true!

[GetTheRightVote]

33. NC state here and this state is just as bad as SC, scary really really is

:kick:

[Leilani]

35. Pardon me, but I don't understand the reactions here.

He WAS speaking at a Lincoln dinner, therefore he is putting his stamp of approval on Lincoln.

What I interpret is that he's dissing South Carolina for holding a grudge all these years, & not getting over losing the Civil War.

[QC]

36. When did the haters here ever let mere facts or logic

get in the way of a southbashing circlejerk?

[Skittles]

37. yeah that's it

the poor f***ing south just gets picked on

[MADem]

43. I actually feel very sorry for southern liberals

I live in a blue state, but I feel the GOP boot of opression on my neck every day. I can't imagine how horrific it must be for a liberal in a southern, very red state, having to listen to the bushco party line all the way up and back down their chain of representation, without any opposition to speak of.

I hope it changes soon...it needs to.

[Skittles]

56. I am a staunch liberal living in Texas

been here almost 30 years and believe me, the south deserves its reputation.

[QC]

58. Exactly, you have to...

"listen to the bushco party line all the way up and back down their chain of representation" and then, when you come here for some fellowship with other progressives, you catch hell from self-righteous horse's asses playing some kind of regional variation on "my daddy can beat up your daddy."

[Kinkistyle]

40. Schroeder: Passover is tough for Germany. Can't get over WWII

The dude was joking around aboutslavery and the fact that in his very own state of SC, which he represents and he makes the laws for is still so bigoted it can't celebrate Lincoln as a great President. Its no different to me than Hermann Schroeder in Germany joking around that celebrating Yom Kippur is kinda tough for Germans because folks just can't quite get over the Dresden bombings.

yeah, maybe he might be dissing his own people, but it certainly isn't a matter to joke around about.

[NNguyenMD]

38. I think the comments were sick, but I don't think "outcry" is the

appropiate reaction. Demanding an apology, at leats in my view, is a sign of being too needy. It would have been better to give a rebuttal to Sen. Grahams comments and dismiss him as being another racist plantation owning Senator.

[d_b]

44. The party of Lincoln? My ass.

[CheshireCat]

45. Support the Boycott!!!

I have lived in SC for most of my life. Whether or not he meant the comment as sarcasm or not, Graham should know better.

Color me embarrassed and ashamed to be a South Carolinian.

Even though Miss Lindsey is a conservative *sshole who would NEVER get my vote, I was still surprised by his comments. He doesn't usually pander to the racists who worship the Confederate Flag and their "heritage".

Oh, just in case you missed it, SC still flies the Confederate Flag in FRONT of the Capitol building. A few years ago, it was moved from its place of prominence on top of our Capitol building in Columbia to a pole in front of the building.

Until the SC Legislature finally votes to TAKE IT DOWN , the fight will continue.


You can help South Carolinians who still fight to have the flag removed by supporting the NAACP boycott of SC.


Vacation elsewhere!

[tx_dem41]

49. Some context (from the left)

I'm just posting, not endorsing.

http://stevegilliard.blogspot.com/2005/03/hard-feelings-still.html

[Name removed]

50. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[tx_dem41]

51. Yep, I'm a Southerner....

I guess that's what I did, according to you.
:eyes:

"Painting with a broadbrush"....kinda shows what the painter is really made of.

[napi21]

52. The natives will never accept integration.

I'm an old white lady who was born and raised in Pgh Pa. Moved to SC in 1987. I was 44 at the time, and saw and heard things I sure NEVER heard in PA!

There are still "blacks only water fountains on side streets in Greenville!

One of my neighbors, very seriously asked me "You mean you never had a maid and a nanny when you were growing up." Hell, I never even knew anyone who had a maid or a nanny! This lady was from La. and isn't prejudice at all, but she just thought EVERYBODY had that luxury.

I now live in Ga. and anyone who tells you that the south is integrated now is either lying or playing ostrich.

[denverbill]

53. It's nice that he's 'getting over' his Party's founding father.

I wonder if he's gotten over Washington, Jefferson, and Roosevelt yet?

[Mugweed]

55. So why are these people elected?

What does he do to dispell my theory that most "real Southerners" are racist pieces of crap? What's the saying? "Heritage, not hate"? My ass. More like "Heritage not. Hate!"

[struggle4progress]

57. Wait'll they see how long it takes em to get over Boosh.