Lindsey Graham

A Republican Senator with integrity.

In a committee vote today, one Republican Senator broke ranks with his partisan cabal and took a stand for integrity. That Senator was Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.

In a lengthy speech supporting her, Mr. Graham questioned the Senate’s approach to judicial confirmations, taking colleagues — including President Obama when he was a senator — to task for basing their votes on philosophy rather than a nominee’s qualifications and character.

Mr. Graham said that Ms. Kagan was not someone he would have chosen, “but the person who did choose — President Obama — I think chose wisely.”

It doesn't take much imagination to guess how Burr would have voted.

At today's energy confab in Charlotte, Dick Burr had this to say:

“If you want a game-changer on jobs, pass an energy policy tomorrow that says we will build 100 nuclear plants.”

Game changer? Oh really? Like in what decade? Aside from the fact that such a move is both unnecessary from a demand point of view and stupid from a public policy point of view, the odds of any yet-to-be-approved nuclear facility actually creating real jobs (except for lawyers) in the next three years are basically zero. I'm sure it was a good laugh line at the pity party, but seriously. What a dumb shit.

Lindsey Graham, on the other hand, was even more pathetic. The next time I hear an elected official saying something like this ...

Woo-hoo. The healthcare bill is done. People will see many of the provisions go into place immediately and then they can decide how they feel about these reforms based on reality instead of frenzied, uninformed rhetoric. Let's just take a moment to recognize this historic occasion.

I grew up in the rural parts of Kentucky and Pennsylvania, two relatively conservative areas. Most of my friends and family are tried-and-true Republicans so it was assumed that I would follow suit. When I started working for a Democratic Congressman in college, one very prominent male figure in my family explained the oddity with a shrug (channeling Churchill) saying "If you are a Republican when you are in college, you have no heart. But if you are a Democrat when you are older, you have no mind."

This weekend, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said that kind of thinking could get the G.O.P. in trouble with young people. Indeed, he said one of the central reasons he is reaching across the aisle on clean energy and climate legislation is that he thinks the G.O.P. needs to do a better job of connecting with young voters.

Senator Lindsey Graham was quoted this week saying that a new climate and energy proposal will be released "hopefully in the next couple weeks." The new plan will not install a comprehensive cap and trade program over all industries. Instead the legislation will take steps to incorporate different industries over a longer period of time. Power plants would be the first industry to face a cap on emissions. The stall plan is the work of oil industries who believe that the House bill went to far in limiting their carbon emissions. The move is probably good politics considering these are turbulent times and support for comprehensive legislation will be needed from all sides. The other important note to make is that regulation on utility emissions would start on day one. Considering EPA estimates that power plants are responsible for over 70% of all carbon emissions this is a smart move.

The Climate Bullies

When I was in 6th grade, I fell victim to the school bully. I was new to the school and became an easy target for an 8th grade girl with a bad attitude. She picked on me endlessly while other kids stood by and watched. I was humiliated, scared and completely at a loss about what I should do.

Thankfully I had eventually made some decent friends and one day when the resident bully showed up one of them stepped in and told her to stop. Others quickly backed her up; the bully went away and never bothered me again.

My experience with bullying is far from unique. Bullies get away with their behavior over and over again....In our schools, in our offices and even in Congress.

What gives bullies their power? It certainly isn't the victim. And it isn't even the bully. Instead, those with the most power, the ones who can usually make the bullying stop, are the people on the sidelines.

Richard Burr's whining twin to the south, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), didn't mince words this week when he said Republicans would be doing what they do best on climate change legislation: obstructing and stalling.

Last week, South Carolina Republican Senator, Lindsey Graham, created a stir and made the media rounds after throwing a tantrum on the Senate floor. I watched the entire tantrum live on C-Span and dissected it to see if it contained anything of value. I am looking for anything new the Republicans might offer that isn't the revenue reduction scheme they typically pander. I can honestly report that I found nothing. The Republicans in Washington don't like being out of power and they don't like Nancy Pelosi. They don't like Pelosi so much they are willing to throw the entire nation under the bus while they pout and lick their wounds.