Why is Lindsey Graham so worried about Jack Abramoff?

[DoYouEverWonder]

Twice in two days, right in the middle of the Alito Confirmation hearings, Lindsey Graham blurted out odd, if not inappropriate comments regarded Jack Abramoff. Seems that Graham is more then just a little worried about having to defend himself down the road and was sending a clear message to Alito and the rest of their base, that if Alito gets appointed to the SC, the fix is in.


Here's the first one:

GRAHAM: I guess there's no rule against beating a dead horse, or we'd all have quit a long time ago.

(LAUGHTER)

So in the next 30 minutes, I'm going to ask you the same questions you've been asked for a whole day.

(LAUGHTER)

And I hope you'll understand if any us come before a court and we can't remember Abramoff, you will tend to believe us.

(LAUGHTER)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/10/AR2006011001418.html

The second outburst occurred, believe it or not, during Mrs. Alito's staged crying jag. Graham started off pushing the bigot button but once the cameras went to Mrs. Alito, then he suddenly started talking about campaign donations, tainted money and photos with people you wish had never been taken. Graham said nothing about bigotry or how badly Alito had been treated, even thought that is what the media is telling us he said. While everyone was distracted, Graham sent a direct message to Alito about how Alito should treat him and his colleagues when these questions come up in court.

This is what this nomination is all about. Getting Alito on the court so that all of the indictments and investigations are guaranteed to go nowhere.

ALITO: I'm not any kind of a bigot, I'm not.

GRAHAM: No, sir, you're not. And you know why I believe that? Not because you just said it -- but that's a good enough reason, because you seem to be a decent, honorable man. I have got reams of quotes from people who have worked with you, African American judges -- I've lost my quotes.

Judge Higginbotham -- I don't know where they're at. But glowing quotes about who you are, the way you've lived your life; law clerks, men and women, black and white, your colleagues who say that Sam Alito, whether I agree with him or not, is a really good man.

You know why I believe you when you say that you disavow those quotes? Because the way you have lived your life and the way you and your wife are raising your children.

Let me tell you this: Guilt by association is going to drive good men and women away from wanting to sit where you're sitting. And we're going to go through a bit of this ourselves as congressmen and senators.

People are going to take a fact that we got a campaign donation from somebody who's found out to be a little different than we thought they were -- and our political opponent's going to say, "Aha, I got you!"

And we're going to say, "Wait a minute. I didn't know that. I didn't take the money for that reason."

And you know what? I'm going to believe these senators and congressmen for the most part, because that's the way we do our business. We meet people here every day. We have photos taken with people -- and sometimes you wish you didn't have your photo taken.

But that doesn't mean that you're a bad person because of that association.

Judge Alito, I am sorry that you've had to go through this. I am sorry that your family has had to sit here and listen to this.

Now let's talk about another time not so long ago -- and another judge and some of her writings -- and see if the Senate is changing for the better or for the worse.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/11/AR2006011101674.html?sub=AR

[woodsprite]

1. I caught that and I thought at the time that Graham's guilty

as sin and trying to grease his way, and the other congressmen too. Hmmmm. Wonder if any of those pics they scrubbed had Graham in them.

[acmejack]

2. Oh, How I hope the sanctimonious little twerp is guilty of something!

He sure is acting like it! He really pissed me off with his little stunt with habeas corpus in the defense budget authorization.

[tularetom]

3. Abramoff has a picture of Lindsey

with Jeff Gannon.

[vickie]

4. This is truly bizarre and appears to be an effort by smarmy Mr.

Graham (sanctimonious little gerbil) to prepare the nation from the GOP sludge that is about to be dumped out by Jack -- now that he's singing....

[The Backlash Cometh]

5. "Guilt by association" is one tool the Republicans used to bring down

the Dems. "First, they went after the Liberals..." that kind of thing.

Well, at least we know that Lindsey is on the list, eh?

[mtnester]

6. The ixfay is inay...inkway inkway odnay odnay

sheesh..how obvious could he have been? He may as well as come right out and said "you are going to get the court to agree not to hear any of this Abramoff stuff, right? And to step in when not even asked and overturn any convictions too...right?