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The US government has been slowly eradicating the Posse Commitatus Act of 1878. That act banned the US government from using the US military in domestic law enforcement. Over the past few decades the US government has repeatedly violated the act. However, many Republicans have insisted that the Posse Comitatus Act needs to be respected to protect the rights of American Citizens. South Carolina's left-wing Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, however, is supporting provisions to eradicate Posse Commitatus and dramatically expand the powers of the Federal government. The US Senate Armed Forces Committee, led by Carl Levin (D-MI) and John McCain...

(snip) Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said the dinner was scheduled long before POLITICO reported about the sexual harassment allegations that have since rocked Cain's campaign. "I never met Herman Cain, I'm going to meet him tonight at dinner," said Graham, who is expecting the Cain controversy to die down. "He's going to meet some people in town. I think people are intrigued by him." (snip)

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, who’s taken on tough tasks from immigration reform to climate change, faces another one as he calls for spending billions of dollars overseas on unpopular foreign aid programs that he insists are vital to U.S. national security. With Congress facing mandatory spending cuts and previously sacrosanct military programs on the chopping block, Graham is trying to protect funding for foreign aid even as most Americans oppose it – 71 percent in a recent poll – and other Republican leaders call for focusing U.S. resources at home. “It is a tough sell, but you can be...

With Muammar Qaddafi finally out of the picture, Republican lawmakers are pressing the U.S. to open its wallet to help the new regime in Libya rebuild its nation, restore essential services and care for those wounded in the eight-months-long bloody conflict – an expense they say oil-rich Libya can and will reimburse. “They’re willing to reimburse us. It’s not a matter of money,” Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., told Fox News, making a tough sales pitch in an era of high unemployment and increasing austerity. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., noted that the Libyans’ top request was for help in tending to...

A leaked U.S. diplomatic cable shows that Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain promised to help Libyan dictator Muammar Qadhafi obtain U.S. military hardware in 2009. The cable, released by the open information group WikiLeaks, reveals the pledge came at meeting that was attended by other prominent members of Congress, including Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.).In the meeting, Muatassim Qadhafi, the Libyan leader’s fifth son and national security adviser, requested U.S. assistance in obtaining military supplies, both lethal and non-lethal. The cable indicates that McCain was the dominant voice among the congressional delegation in a...

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham says the recent debate over the nation's debt ceiling shows he's in line with the tea party. The Post and Courier of Charleston reported Graham met with the Charleston Tea Party on Monday in a rather relaxed meeting. A year ago, the meeting was so tense with tea partiers questioning his positions that the senator asked the media to leave.

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) today released the following statement regarding the end of the Qadaffi regime in Libya: “The end of the Qadaffi regime in Libya is a victory for the Libyan people and for the broader cause of freedom in the Middle East and throughout the world. This achievement was made possible first and foremost by the struggle and sacrifice of countless Libyans, whose courage and perseverance we applaud. We also commend our British, French, and other allies, as well as our Arab partners, especially Qatar and the UAE, for their...

ROCK HILL, SC - U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham said the recent downgrade of the country's bond rating by Standard & Poor's is a "wake-up call" for national leaders to keep looking for ways to boost the economy and spur job creation. The S.C. Republican also said it's important for bipartisan talks on those issues, saying neither political party alone can solve the major problems facing the country. Graham spoke Thursday before more than 50 attendees of a luncheon held by the Rock Hill Rotary club. His talk focused primarily on the economy, military efforts in the Middle East and immigration...

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Sunday that Congress should not interfere with U.S. operations in Libya. "Congress should sort of shut up and not empower [Libyan leader Muammar] Qadhafi," Graham said on NBC's "Meet the Press." Congressional critics of the Libya action have been floating the possibility of defunding military operations there, or invoking the War Powers Act to force an end to the military operation.

WASHINGTON — Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham criticized his party's presidential candidates and congressional leaders for increasingly advocating an international isolationism that he said repudiates the legacies of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. The South Carolina senator mocked seven GOP presidential candidates' discussion of foreign policy in Monday night's New Hampshire debate as "shallow" and full of "platitudes."(snip) "I was very disappointed that no one articulated why it matters if we win or lose in Afghanistan," Graham said. "No one articulated what would happen if (Libyan strongman Moammar) Gadhafi stays in power. So we have Republicans talking about stopping...

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Sunday that it’s time to consider international intervention in Syria to avoid the further “slaughter” of people there by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces. “If it made sense to protect the Libyan people against Gadhafi, and it did because they were going to get slaughtered if we hadn’t sent NATO in when he was on the outskirts of Benghazi, the question for the world [is], have we gotten to that point in Syria,” Graham said on the CBS' "Face the Nation."

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) is hopeful that his bill to create a National Infrastructure Bank will move through the Senate this year. The bill could be the best shot for those seeking to boost transportation, energy and water infrastructure investment in a Congress focused on “rapacious” spending cuts, Kerry said. The Kerry bill, co-sponsored by Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), would create an independent, nonprofit bank that would leverage private investment into infrastructure projects. The bill was introduced in March.

Washington (CNSNews.com) - Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), when talking to Capitol reporters, said that Fox News makes it difficult for him to garner support for his stance on immigration reform, which includes a “pathway to citizenship” for illegal aliens already living in the country. The senator, a member of the Judiciary Committee, said that Fox News using the word “amnesty” during the 24-hour news cycle has hindered support for his position on reforming the U.S. immigration system, which lawmakers on both sides say is broken. “In today’s world, it’s very hard for bi-partisan agreements to be formed,” said Graham, “because...

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee sees a Libyan stalemate and wants NATO to bomb Moammar Gadhafi's inner circle and military headquarters. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham says those closest to Gadhafi "need to wake up every day wondering, 'Will this my last?'" Graham tells CNN's "State of the Union" that the quickest way to end the stalemate is "to cut the head of the snake off."

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) named Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) its April 2011 Porker of the Month for threatening to bring the Senate to a standstill over a $40,000 earmark for a federal study on deepening the port of Charleston. The study would investigate the effectiveness of deepening the port from 47 feet to 50 feet, an improvement that Sen. Graham claims will allow it to accommodate the types of ships that will “dominate shipping lanes” in the future. The earmark began as a $400,000 request that was rejected by the Senate Appropriations Committee in October, 2010. There...

He urged GOP candidates to support foreign aid to Middle Eastern countries and said they should be ready to criticize President Obama if he fails to force Moammar Gadhafi to vacate power in Libya.Graham, one of his party’s most forceful voices on foreign policy, warned that presidential candidates will encounter a “war-weary” public that wants to troops to return from Iraq and Afghanistan. Candidates also will find that pitching increases in foreign aid to key Middle Eastern nations like Egypt “goes over like a lead balloon.”The reason such public sentiments worry Graham is “because it doesn’t take long before the...

Congressional leaders Sunday denounced the recent Koran burning in Florida that is being blamed for days of deadly anti-American riots across Afghanistan and hinted at possible congressional condemnation or hearings. The book burning, done by Florida pastor Terry Jones with little publicity at the time almost two weeks ago, is being blamed for attacks that led to the deaths of seven U.N. workers on Friday. Protests continued during the weekend, with 10 people killed in rioting in Kandahar on Saturday and Sunday. Hundreds of demonstrators burned an effigy of President Obama on Sunday in Jalalabad while stomping on a U.S....

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a military lawyer, is the first member of Congress to say the legislature needs to explore the possibility, however unlikely, of limiting some kinds of free speech - like Terry Jones' Quran burning - that help America's enemies. "I wish we could find a way to hold people accountable. Free speech is a great idea, but we're in a war," he told CBS's Bob Schieffer on "Face the Nation." "During World War II, we had limits on what you could do if it inspired the enemy," Graham said, adding that he wanted to do "anything we...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says congressional lawmakers are discussing taking some action in response to the Koran burnings of a Tennessee pastor that led to killings at the U.N. facility in Afghanistan and sparked protests across the Middle East, Politico reports.Sen. Lindsey Graham said Congress might need to explore the need to limit some forms of freedom of speech, in light of Tennessee pastor Terry Jones’ Quran burning, and how such actions result in enabling U.S. enemies.

According to Politico, President Obama will be forced to abandon his controversial nomination of Donald Berwick as the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Politico reports that "Senate Democrats have given up on confirming Don Berwick as CMS administrator in the wake of a letter from 42 Republican senators opposing the nomination," as "there's no way for Berwick to get the 60 votes needed to clear the Senate." As with his various "czars," President Obama had previously circumvented the Senate confirmation process (despite having a Democratically controlled Senate) to install Berwick in his post. He had...

One of the favorites of South Carolina conservatives, Gov. Nikki Haley, and one of their least favorites, Sen. Lindsey Graham, are teaming up to promote legislation that would permit states such as the Palmetto State to “opt out” of Obamacare. Graham mentions the value in putting every senator on record as to whether or not their state should have the option of opting out of Obamacare. In South Carolina Republican circles, there’s still a lot of talk about a conservative challenge to Sen. Lindsey Graham, but it’s worth noting he’s not up for reelection until 2014.

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Gay rights activist Mike Rogers, the professional outer of closeted, hypocritical gay politicians, claims to have "pictures of a man who spent the night" with Sen. Lindsey Graham. He's supposedly meeting with his lawyer today before releasing them. Rogers' previous outings of Ex-Rep. Mark Foley, Ex-Sen. Larry Craig and Ex-RNC chair Ken Mehlman, among others, once earned him the completely arbitrary title of "most feared man on the Hill." He keeps a list, and there are still many names on it. Lindsey Graham has been hounded by gay rumors since his first runs for Congress in the '90s.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said that the Tea Party needs to commit to being problem-solvers in the new Congress. On "Face the Nation," Graham was asked about the prospects for bipartisanship come January. "The House is in revolt," he said of the difficulty of extending the Bush-era tax cuts. "People are pissed off in the House at the estate tax. That's going to carry over a bit." Graham said that big government and spending is on the "run and retreat," but that the coming months will test the grass-roots movement that helped turn the tide in the midterm election. "The...

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Saturday that the failed Democratic effort to pass the DREAM Act in the lame duck session dealt a blow to future talks on a wider immigration bill. “It was an exercise to try and taint Republicans with Hispanic voters, knowing that the DREAM Act under these circumstances could never pass,” Graham told reporters in the Capitol after the bill sputtered on the floor. “What they have done on the DREAM Act is hurt overall comprehensive immigration reform,” he said. The DREAM Act, which would give legal status to illegal immigrants who came to the country...

We now know how cap-and-trade will be rebranded for the start of the 112th Congress - and we also know the Republican weak spot in the Senate. As reported today by Energy & Environment News, [A] proposal for a clean energy standard, which has been batted around for years and introduced most recently by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), has created a buzz on and off Capitol Hill in recent weeks. What is a "clean energy standard" (CES)? Graham's CES is essentially a national renewable electricity standard (RES), where nuclear power and so-called "clean coal" qualify to meet the RES. Reportedly,...

Sen. Lindsey Graham is concerned that the Republican Party faces political dangers by resisting efforts to reduce carbon dioxide and other air pollution. That assertion seems to challenge GOP campaigns this year, in which candidates often rejected the science behind climate change. Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, is designing an agenda for next year featuring a clean energy standard for utilities, which rewards increased nuclear and renewable power alike. Similar ideas have failed because they tended to dilute incentives for wind and solar. But under an increasingly conservative Congress, many advocates see that outcome as a potential victory, under...

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is gumming up the works. For once, it is the Democrats who are being inconvenienced by his declarations of independence. Today, Graham was to join Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) in releasing a scaled-down cap-and-trade bill. But the grand unveiling was scuttled by Graham's righteous anger over immigration. Over the weekend, Graham assailed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-NV) plans to move ahead on immigration before cap and trade. "Moving forward on immigration -- in this hurried, panicked manner -- is nothing more than a cynical ploy," the Palmetto State's senior senator said...

"One thing I think we ought to do, other than blocking his agenda and controlling spending, is trying to solve a hard problem like Social Security, and if we show our willingness to work with him on that, I think that would be well-received by the American people," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told WVOC-AM.

(snip) BLITZER: Are you ready to work with the Democrats on immigration reform? GRAHAM: Yes, I'm ready to solve the problem -- the immigration problem once and for all. Start with securing the border, and if I'm not willing to work on immigration reform? Why am I up here? Because it's a huge problem for the country. Start with border security. I'm willing to do anything that makes America stronger as long as I get something for it. (snip)

AIKEN -- The Aiken County Republican Party has approved a formal censure of U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. The party's executive committee took the action Thursday, joining a handful of other county parties, including Greenville's GOP. Committee member Pete Seaha, who also is the Aiken County Tea Party chairman, wrote the resolution and introduced it at the meeting. The resolution states in part that Graham won't be invited to any party meetings or events. "I don't believe the senator is sticking to conservative Republican principles," said Seaha. "In my mind, the senator has disrespected his constituents. He has said publicly...

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, appearing on CNN’s State of the Union Sunday with Candy Crowley, had some harsh words for his Senate colleagues and for a system that thwarts any real bipartisanship. He said it’s up to the voters to let their members of Congress know enough is enough. “The public is rightfully upset about their Congress not delivering but when we try, groups on the left and the right just yell and scream. What I want to do is make sure that we can find a way to move forward. The current status quo is unacceptable....

(CNSNews.com) - Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said that Jesus’s Golden Rule inspired him to vote to confirm Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court and suggested it would be a good thing for his Senate colleagues to also ponder Jesus’s words as they prepared to vote on Kagan. “It is divine in its orientation, and it is probably something that would serve us all well if we thought about it at moments such as this,” Sen. Graham said on the Senate floor, as he pointed his colleagues to the Golden Rule and counseled them to look to...

Washington (CNN) – Sen. Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican who often finds himself out of step with the most conservative elements of his party, was censured by yet another GOP county party committee Monday night. In recent months, Graham has been censured by GOP party committees in Lexington and Charleston counties. On Monday, the Greenville GOP Executive Committee passed a censure resolution by a vote of 61-2. "THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, the Greenville County Republican Party hereby issues this formal rebuke of Senator Graham for his cooperation and support of President Obama and the Democratic Party's liberal agenda for...

Last night, the elected officers of the Greenville County Republican Party presented a "Resolution of Rebuke of U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham" to the Greenville County GOP's Executive Committee. By a vote of 61-2, the Executive Committee approved the Resolution. The Greenville County GOP Executive Commitee is made up of individuals from across Greenville County who are elected at the precinct level. On the Executive Committee, every precinct has one vote. Below is the Resolution as it was approved: GREENVILLE COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY "RESOLUTION OF REBUKE of SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM" WHEREAS, United States Senator Lindsey Graham has cast votes in the...

With one word, "yes," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, solidified his maverick status and no doubt fanned the flames of conservative resentment already running high against him, as he voted Tuesday in the Senate Judiciary Committee to support the nomination of Elena Kagan for a seat on the Supreme Court, the lone Republican to do so. "I'm going to vote for her because I believe this last election has consequences," Graham said of Kagan, adding that her positions are "in the mainstream" and saying it was "not a difficult decision." As if to underline his conservative status, Graham reminded, "No one...

BAGHDAD (AP) -- Vice President Joe Biden landed Saturday on what appeared to be a dual mission in Baghdad: to visit U.S. troops during the July Fourth weekend and coax Iraqi leaders into ending their government impasse. Top Obama administration officials have been reluctant to visit Iraq since its deadlocked March election failed to produce a clear winner. Biden's trip may signal the U.S. is stepping up its efforts to hammer out an agreement among Iraqi political rivals and get a new government in place as soon as possible.

Now that President Obama has decided to accept General McChrystal’s resignation (replacing him in command with General David Petraeus), the political fallout from this entire story is starting to reveal itself. And today’s emotional comment by Senator Lindsay Graham (R – SC) might be an indication that some on the right see this story as transcending traditional political tropes. Graham, who currently serves as a senior instructor at the Air Force JAG school, harshly criticizes McChrystal and his staff for their lack of judgment in speaking so candidly with a Rolling Stone reporter, and also openly asks if there may...

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Friday said he thinks that Congress can get immigration reform done by March 2011, if not by the end of this year. While speaking at a fundraising event for the Irish Lobby for Immigration reform in New York while on recess, Schumer praised his former negotiating partner Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), noting that Graham took his cues from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). "While Lindsey Graham is a great partner and he loves our bill," Schumer said, he really said his mentor was McCain, according to IrishCentral.com. (snip) In 2007, McCain attempted to push through a...

Though he withheld comment on whether he will ultimately support her Supreme Court nomination, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham gave Elena Kagan generally positive reviews following their meeting today. "I think she's done a pretty good job" in her current position as U.S. solicitor general, Graham told reporters. He specifically cited her work on issues pertaining to the laws of war -- a topic he described as "something that's near and dear to my heart." "For the most part, I think she's taken pretty well-reasoned positions about legal rights of detainees," he said. But he quickly added, "I really don't know...

WASHINGTON — Sen. Lindsey Graham gave a guardedly positive reaction Monday to President Barack Obama’s choice of Solicitor General Elena Kagan to serve on the Supreme Court while stopping short of a full endorsement. Sen. Jim DeMint said he's troubled that Kagan hasn't been a judge, but the Greenville, S.C., Republican withheld final judgment until he learns more about her during confirmation hearings. Graham, a Seneca, S.C., Republican, and DeMint split on Obama’s first Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor. Graham was one of nine Republican senators who voted last August to confirm Sotomayor as the first Hispanic justice. DeMint joined...

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) is questioning whether Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) had other motivations for attempting to push off final action on an immigration bill until after the November elections. Menendez, the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, told POLITICO that Graham may be worried about his close pal Sen. John McCain. The Arizona Republican faces a tough primary challenge from conservative former Rep. J.D. Hayworth, who has pilloried McCain's previous stance supporting a comprehensive immigration bill that included a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants. Now, Menendez said, Graham may be attempting to shield McCain from political blowback...

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) declared a comprehensive immigration bill dead on arrival if the government does not first do more to secure its borders. Graham tangled with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano during a Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday about the administration’s desire to pass an immigration measure this year. “I would bet you everything I own that the 2007 [immigration] bill wouldn’t pass this year,” Graham told Napolitano, predicting that the administration will “crash and burn” if it moves forward with a plan to push immigration legislation through Congress before the November elections. “If immigration comes up this year, it...

The Republican lawmaker, under attack from both parties, backs off from efforts to work with Democrats on immigration, energy and Guantanamo Bay. BY JIM TANKERSLEY For months, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina was one of the few Republicans willing to cross the aisle to work with the Obama administration on controversial issues. Now, he may be the showcase example of why bipartisanship is all but dead in Washington. In the beginning, Graham's attempts to find compromises with Obama and Senate Democrats on immigration, energy and closing Guantanamo Bay looked like the best chance for a thaw in Washington's icy...

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said Tuesday that the tough new Arizona immigration law will probably be struck down by the courts on constitutional grounds. "In my view it's all uphill under the law," Graham told reporters. "I think they'll have a hard time upholding this law, that's my view." Graham, who quipped that he was "not the brightest lawyer in town," said he had a "reasonable suspicion if it comes down to the color of your skin or the ethnic background as the dominant reason, it shouldn't hold up." His position creates some daylight with his close friend Sen....

On the face of it, Elena Kagan, the United States Solicitor General, and Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina would not seem to have much in common. Kagan is a Democrat and former dean of Harvard who is currently in the frame to be chosen by President Barack Obama as a Supreme Court Justice. Graham happens to be a lawyer too but he is a Republican, a faithful sidekick of Senator John McCain and a Colonel in the US Air Force Reserve. Last week, however, both were "outed" as being gay - actions that prompted outrage on the Left in...

The decision by Arizona's Gov. Jan Brewer to sign a tough immigration bill for her state may have endangered the fate of an unrelated, but highly anticipated, climate change legislation scheduled to be introduced in the Senate in Washington on Monday. Sen. Lindsey Graham, the lead Republican sponsor of the climate bill, sent a letter Saturday to supporters of the measure threatening to abandon the effort without assurances from President Obama that climate change, and not immigration reform, will be his highest legislative priority. Graham pointed to recent press accounts that top Democrats may choose to bring up immigration reform...

Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) threatened to abandon his effort to push a climate and energy bill Saturday, saying he will only continue if Democratic leaders promise to relinquish plans to bring up immigration legislation first. Graham's departure, if he follows through on his ultimatum, would likely doom any chance of passing a climate bill this year. He is the sole Republican working with Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) on a compromise proposal which they had planned to unveil Monday. In a letter to leaders of the effort to enact climate and energy legislation, Graham wrote,...

While there has been speculation for years, no one has ever come forward to say they have proof that Graham is a homosexual. Graham denies it. And unlike other gay Republicans who are still in the closet who have been exposed by the professional “outers” in the Democratic Party, Graham has not been fingered....

Want a sense of how a national immigration debate may sound to Republicans unwilling to tow the hard right line? Get a load of this. Over the weekend hard right immigration “reform” group ALIPAC (Americans for Legal Immigration Political Action Committee) responded to Sen. Lindsey Graham’s measured call for immigration reform by calling for Graham to “come out of that log cabin closet.” William Sheen, head of ALIPAC, referenced a three year old speech Graham made to the National Council of La Raza during which he noted that to many immigrants America is an idea and “no group owns being...