Lindsey Graham Walks on Climate and Amnesty

Sen. Lindsey Graham has certainly been in the news this week. Republicans have been more than a little frustrated that the South Carolina senator has announced he is working with Democrats on Cap and Trade (Climate) and Immigration Reform (Amnesty for Illegal Aliens). The question has been: why would he do that, knowing that a majority of Republicans want neither?

Lindsey Graham                        John Kerry

Graham has been working behind the scenes on a Cap and Tax bill and Amnesty with Senators John Kerry and Chuck Schumer. A video made the rounds last week from ALIPAC president, William Gheen, saying that he believed Senator Graham was "compromised." His reasoning was unfortunate, but he intimates that Graham could be blackmailed (my word, not Gheens), and if that is the case, Graham needs to rethink a few things, and reassure the voters.

 Graham has walked on the bill and taken his "bipartisan" support with him. This is a real dilemma, but it just may get Graham out of a tough spot, in light of Gheen's statement. Democrats will not hold-up Immigration, so this can get Graham out of both Climate Change and Immigration, and make the South Carolina Republican Party happy (they have censured him twice in recent months) and make his fellow Republicans in the Senate ecstatic.

Graham's departure likely dooms any chance of passing a climate bill this year. He is the sole Republican working with Sens. John Kerry and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) on a compromise they had planned to unveil Monday.

Here is a portion of a letter Graham sent to the Cap and Tax Committee:

"I want to bring to your attention what appears to be a decision by the Obama Administration and Senate Democratic leadership to move immigration instead of energy. Unless their plan substantially changes this weekend, I will be unable to move forward on energy independence legislation at this time. I will not allow our hard work to be rolled out in a manner that has no chance of success." 

A curious response, but smart, because voters are increasingly unhappy with the perpetual loose-canon- ball-Senator Graham. If he scuttles back to his Party, which is desperately trying to reign-in the regime's "regulate the world" doctrine, he will do his country a huge service and probably be re-elected in 2012.

Linked by NetRightNation