[His opponent Thomas] Ravenel says, "Stop fearmongering using other people's sound bites--and other people's blood and treasure--and give us some hard numbers," Ravenel said. "Tell us exactly how much is it going to cost to mold Iraq into the country you want it to be? Trillions of dollars and thousands of lives have already been lost there in the name of 'nation-building'--yet the situation is worse than it's ever been."
President Barack Obama launched so-called "humanitarian" airstrikes in northern Iraq last week.
In a recent interview, Graham tied together different areas where he believes Obama has failed: "When you tell the world we're gonna find the people who killed our four Americans in Libya, including the ambassador, and you do nothing about it; whether you agree with his policy in Syria, Egypt, whether you agree with his policies, when he tells people there will be consequences, and there are none, it sets in motion exactly what you see."
Graham argued he wasn't harping on Benghazi for political reasons: "Everything I've done has been about what I think is best for the country. I think it's best to find the truth about Benghazi, when my primary's over, I'm gonna still be on Benghazi," he said.
Graham also released a new ad earlier this week touting his opposition to Obama on foreign policy: "He stands up for America and our troops, challenging the president, asking the tough questions on Iran, Benghazi and radical Islam," the ad's narrator says. "In a dangerous world where the only guarantee of peace is strength, Lindsey Graham stands strong."
No one knows for sure how much Russian President Vladimir Putin cares about what the US says or does regarding troops in Ukraine, but Putin "does care about missile defense systems in Poland and the Czech Republic," Graham said. Putin "very much cares about democracies on his borders," Graham said, and the US should increase that concern by helping Poland and the Czech Republic, and support Georgia's bid to become a member of NATO. I would like to create a democratic noose around Putin's Russia," said Graham.
With a lot of hard work, the business grew substantially. In less than six years we were grossing in excess of $10 million and running scores of trucks to all parts of the continental US. At the peak of the business I was able to create jobs for over 100 people.
I can testify to the mind-boggling costs of government regulations. Naturally, we also had to hire accountants & lawyers, just to keep compliant with 48 different state-regulators, the Federal government (particularly the IRS and Interstate Commerce Commission), all the while fending off the Teamsters union.
A trade publication, Fleet Owner, tallied the costs: "About $1,800 to $3,000 was added to the base cost of a Class 8 truck [any vehicle above 33,000lb GVWR] in 2002 to meet the first round of emissions regulations. For 2007, an extra $5,000 to $10,000 got tacked on." By 2010, that meant roughly $13,500 to $23,000 extra per truck to satisfy the bureaucrats.
As a result of the new rules, fleet maintenance costs increased an extra $367 on average per truck, per year. And that's when the truck was new.
When that customer bailed at the last minute, I was stuck with a $15,000-per-month lease in a market flooded with the empty warehouses of once thriving textile businesses. I had made a decision based on the expectation of growing with that customer, but I had been wrong.
By 2006, I continued to see a steady drop as more of my customers were being driven out of business. This left us with over $300,000 of unrecoverable accounts receivable. Although not yet readily apparent to the general public, the American economy was slipping into severe recession. But, of course, the Federal government is always there to help, right?
And then there are the taxes & fees. As a business-owner I paid income taxes, corporate taxes, capital gains taxes, property taxes, Social Security taxes, unemployment insurance taxes, Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Tax, excise taxes, fuel and mileage taxes in every state we so much as drove through, USDOT fees, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration fees, and on and on.
Our biggest single headache, however, was the maze of legal paperwork that is the worker's compensation system. On top of that, you can add the trial lawyer industry which is perpetually scouring the earth for clients to sue companies like mine. This means we had to carry substantial insurance coverage as well.
When asked about the al Qaeda operatives disguised within the opposition, Graham stated, "The Syrian people started this revolution through peaceful demonstrations. These radical Islamists are hijacking this revolution." Senator Graham recognizes the danger posed by the extremists. In fact, this acknowledgment drives his contention that the US must involve itself in the Syrian civil war. "The Iranians are backing Assad for a reason." He says, "We need to be backing people who would replace Assad who are not radical Islamists and that's most Syrians"
GRAHAM: I hope we learn from this tactical mistake that they made regarding defunding ObamaCare. We have got a unique opportunity here after this debacle called the shutdown to reenergize the Congress and maybe get better standing.
Q: What about Senator Ted Cruz--has he hurt your party by shutting down on ObamaCare?
GRAHAM: I think the tactical choice that he embraced hurt our party. After this debacle called the shutdown, our party's been hurt. Our brand name is at its lowest ever. ObamaCare actually got a bump in polling. And we got in the way of a disastrous roll-out, so from my point of view, this was a tactical choice that hurt us, but the good news for the Republican Party is that of the debacle is over, if we don't do it again and ObamaCare is a continuing debacle. ObamaCare is a debacle that will go into 2014. The shutdown should be in our rearview mirror as Republicans.
Graham never engaged his foes directly, but his comments encapsulated the arduous sell to the public. "I don't want another Iraq or Afghanistan war because that's just not what we need to do," he said, before outlining his support for a contained military strike designed to degrade Syria's ability to deliver chemical weapons in the future and assist those who want to overthrow President Bashar Assad.
Facing that strain of skepticism, Graham wound up his case on Syria intervention by raising the stakes considerably. He painted a frightening picture of cascading world events that would reverberate far beyond the borders of a civil war in one Middle Eastern country.
Here's what Graham said back in June: "I'm glad the NSA is trying to find out what the terrorists are up to overseas and in our country. I'm a Verizon customer. I don't mind Verizon turning over records to the government if the government is going to make sure that they try to match up a known terrorist phone with somebody in the United States. I don't think you're talking to the terrorists. I know you're not. I know I'm not. So we don't have anything to worry about."
Graham seemingly neglected the criticisms that come with operating a surveillance program that blanket tracks the records of people not even suspected of a crime.
GRAHAM: I don't think he's a hero. I believe he hurt or nation. He compromised our national security program designed to find out what terrorists were up to. So, the freedom trail is not exactly China or Russia. I hope we'll chase him to the ends of the earth, bring him to justice and let the Russians know there will be consequences if they harbor this guy.
Q: Should we put pressure on Russia to hold him there?
GRAHAM: Absolutely. They want to be part of the world community, the WTO. They want a good relationship with the United States. They should hold this felon and send him back home for justice.
GRAHAM: We practically militarized the border. I have been hearing for years, "let's secure our border, let's regain our sovereignty." We have secured our border in a way I could not have imagined five years ago. This whole border security amendment, I think, is the most aggressive attempt to control the southern border and regain our sovereignty. This bill reduces our deficit by $890 billion. It is good for our economy. This bill is good for our national security. No one can get a green card until border security measures are up and running, until E-Verify is up and running controlling a job in America.
GRAHAM: As to the 11 million [illegal immigrants here now], they will have an earned, hard pathway to citizenship. They have to get in the back of the line before they can become citizens. They can't cut in line. They have to pass two English proficiency exams. I reject the idea of becoming the Mideast or Europe where you have 11 million people with a legal status who can't be part of America. America is different than the Mideast and Europe. E pluribus unum, out of many, one. This is tough practical solution for our national security, for our economy and tough, practical solution to 11 million. And most importantly, if we do the bill, amnesty is the status quo. If we do this bill, there will be no third wave of illegal immigration.
GRAHAM: I really don't know [Obama's goal]. But the goal should be to basically make sure Assad leaves. Last year, Assad was isolated; he was hanging by a thread. This year, he's entrenched with Hezbollah, Iran, and Russia. I think our goal should be in the short term is to balance the military power and providing small arms won't do it. So we need to create a no-fly zone to neutralize the Assad's air power.
Q: So you're saying [about Obama's plan] this is too late, this is too little?
GRAHAM: Right. What does it mean if they lose? Syria becomes a powder keg for the region. There's 60,000 Syrian children in Jordan. The kingdom is under siege in terms of refugees. Hezbollah is all over Syria, so Lebanon's even more unstable. Our policies are not working. And AK-47s will not neutralize the advantage that Assad has over the rebels. We need to do more.
Q: So only by taking out Assad can we have peace in this civil war?
GRAHAM: Assad must go.
GRAHAM: No, I haven't been satisfied for a long time. Four things are going to happen if we don't change course in Syria
GRAHAM: There's nothing you can do in Syria without risk, but the greatest risk is a failed state with chemical weapons falling in the hands of radical Islamists.
Sen. McCAIN (R-AZ): As Lindsey gave you the numbers, there are disproportionate cuts to defense. Defense is 19% of the discretionary spending. It's taken 50% of the cuts.
Q: But wouldn't that be a way to start, though?
GRAHAM: Here's why it won't work. We're taking $45 billion a year out of the Defense Department over the next decade. At the end of the decade, we're going to have the smallest Navy since 1915, 232 ships. We're going to have the smallest Air Force in history; the smallest Army since 1940. Our defense spending will be below 3% of GDP. We will have a hollow force. Personnel costs are exempted from sequestration. So you take all the systems, except military pay, and over a decade, you destroy the Defense Department. There is no amount of flexibility in the world will fix this.
GRAHAM: Well, there's a six-person rescue team left Tripoli to reinforce the annex in Benghazi. They arrived at 1:30 in the morning Libyan time. And it was not until 5:00 that they could get to the annex. They were held up for three and a half hours at the airport, had a lot of bureaucratic snafus. Here's my question: Did the president ever pick up the phone and call the Libyan government and say, "Let those people out of the airport?" Secretary Clinton said she was screaming on the phone at Libyan officials. Did the president call? This was incredibly mismanaged.
GRAHAM: I believe we need to raise the debt ceiling, but if we don't raise it without a plan to get out of debt, all of us should be fired. Every American owes $52,000 in terms of their share of the national debt. I want to raise the debt ceiling, but I will not do it without a plan to get out of debt. If you raise the debt ceiling by a dollar, you should cut spending by a dollar. That is the way to go forward. So a dollar for dollar offset and a budget I think are two conditions to raising the debt ceiling.
Q: And you would not raise them unless you've got cuts certain in spending. You will not raise the debt ceiling?
GRAHAM: I'm not going to borrow trillions more dollars without a plan to get out of debt.
GRAHAM: Right.
Q: What speed should the US withdraw the 66,000 remaining troops in Afghanistan?
GRAHAM: I think it should be done based on the best military advice our commanders can give.
Q: Apparently Gen. Allen wants them to stay until the end of next year.
GRAHAM: I think that's a good decision. I want to withdraw our forces in a reasoned way. I would love to be able to support Obama's winding down Afghanistan. I would love to be able to say you've done a good job here. Don't withdraw too quick. Leave them through next fall and withdraw in an organized manner, but announce soon, Mr. President, that we're not leaving Afghanistan. we're going to have a robust military force left behind, as an insurance policy against the Taliban and al Qaeda.
Q: Give me a number.
GRAHAM: I think somewhere in the 15,000 to 20,000 range, depending on what the military commanders say
|
The above quotations are from 2014 South Carolina Senate debates.
Click here for other excerpts from 2014 South Carolina Senate debates. Click here for other excerpts by Lindsey Graham. Click here for a profile of Lindsey Graham.
Lindsey Graham on other issues: |
Abortion
|
Budget/Economy Civil Rights Corporations Crime Drugs Education Energy/Oil Environment Families Foreign Policy Free Trade
Govt. Reform
| Gun Control Health Care Homeland Security Immigration Jobs Principles Social Security Tax Reform Technology War/Peace Welfare
Please consider a donation to OnTheIssues.org!
| Click for details -- or send donations to: 1770 Mass Ave. #630, Cambridge MA 02140 E-mail: submit@OnTheIssues.org (We rely on your support!) | |||||||