Graham's Game

GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham say if Democrats dare try to move ahead on immigration, then he will completely bail on his own climate change legislation, effectively killing the bill.

In a stunning move that could throw a major roadblock in front of two of President Obama's biggest legislative initiatives, Sen. Lindsey Graham abruptly declared Saturday he's abandoning talks on climate change legislation because he believes Democratic efforts to bring up a separate immigration reform package is undermining the legislative process.


"Moving forward on immigration - in this hurried, panicked manner - is nothing more than a cynical political ploy," the South Carolina Republican wrote in a sharply-worded letter obtained by CNN.

The letter was sent to business, religious, and conservation leaders that the senator has been working with on the climate change legislation. An aide to Graham told CNN the senator will no longer be attending a major news conference scheduled for Monday with Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts and independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut to unveil details of their "tri-partisan" climate change legislation.

Graham is the only leading Republican who has been working with the White House on the contentious issue.

Harry Reid and the White House are calling Graham's bluff...for now.

A senior White House official told CNN that in recent days Graham has been privately threatening that he would abandon the climate talks unless Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, backed off of plans to push forward with comprehensive immigration reform ahead of the environmental legislation.

Reid released a statement Saturday saying he’s still committed to tackling both issues and will not be deterred by Graham’s decision.

“I appreciate the work of Senator Graham on both of these issues and understand the tremendous pressure he is under from members of his own party not to work with us on either measure,” said Reid. “But I will not allow him to play one issue off of another, and neither will the American people. They expect us to do both, and they will not accept the notion that trying to act on one is an excuse for not acting on the other."

If anyone's surprised by this, please read the other some odd thousand GOP Stupidity entries on this blog.  Thanks.

In all seriousness it looks like the mysterious source in yesterday's CNN article that said both immigration reform and climate change were dead in the Senate was Lindsey Graham himself.  Also, let's keep in mind what's going on here:  a Senator from the minority party and not even a member of the minority party's Senate leadership is effectively telling the President and the majority party that they can't try to introduce anything other than the legislation he has his name on, or he'll completely abandon his own bill.

In other words, Lindsey Graham has declared himself the most important man in Washington, more powerful than both the President and the Senate majority leader, and that they will listen to his demands or else.  Suddenly the real meaning of his work on climate change legislation becomes crystal clear:  he wanted a hostage all along, not a law.

And keep in mind Lindsey Graham is considered a moderate at best and a heretic who must be purged at worst for the unforgivable crime of even working with the majority party in order to craft legislation.

This is the Republican party in 2010.  A party so filled with partisan rancor and unthinking anger that the simple idea of introducing other legislation that doesn't have to do with another bill is enough to make them abandon their own bipartisan legislation like petulant, sullen children throwing a tantrum because they are told they have to eat their vegetables before dessert.

You will only get what you want from them if they get 100% of what they want now, right now, or they will simply be the Party of No.  Party of l'enfant terribles is more like it.

Have we not learned that there is no Republican who will ever vote for a bill that's not 100% Republican?  Have we not learned that the Republicans have abdicated their duties as lawmakers and instead are simply there to say no to everything?  Have we not learned that the Republicans will never recognize this administration and this Congress as legitimate because they are not in charge of it?

What's it going to take, Dems?