Sen. Lindsey Graham Wants to Talk About Balls

Huh--for some reason, the Democratic president who won re-election--this first president since Eisenhower to win both his elections by 51% or more, wants to engage this fiscal cliff debate like a Democrat.

That's because elections have consequences. Obama didn't run on doing some big damn thing that wasn't a part of his party's platform, which has always been to protect entitlements. By derisively referring to the decision to restore the tax rates for the higher 2% earners to Clinton-era levels a "small ball", Graham is not just engaging in an unfortunate double-entendre to imply that Obama's figurative "balls" could be bigger, but is also reminding us that those rates that the Republicans want to make their line in the sand for the upper-income folks?

Ain't no big. It's what rich folks were paying before the Bush tax cuts went into effect and the economy was not doing poorly, then.

What Graham's team is playing with, though, post-fiscal cliff issue, is a "big". Not raising the debt ceiling is akin to saying we aren't paying the bills. The lights get shut off and the phone doesn't work. He's talking government shut-down.

Seriously? We're talking Clinton-era rates on the wealthy (who aren't going to be hand-to-mouth if they pay a higher marginal rate, what?) vs actually shutting down the government, like Gingrich an'em did. How did they do in 1998?  Exactly. What was it some Spanish dude said--those who don't remember the past....?

This isn't about balls, this is about responsibility. Who sounds reasonable?  "No Drama Obama"--or Senator SquirrellyPants who, if he isn't busy floating conspiracy theories about Benghazi, is now sounding as dumb as Bachmann, Gohmert, or Broun on the damn debt ceiling, even if the last time it got threatened--the credit rating of the US almost took a hit?

I can't talk enough about how disappointing Lindsey Graham is being. Really--you want someone to pay attention to you? Resign. Quit the damn Senate, go on a reality show or something.  But this irresponsible talk is conduct unbecoming a respected Senator. He has got to know better than this.

But regarding the government shutdown/denying there is a debt ceiling mandate shit--glory days. Yeah, they'll pass you by, glory days. In the wink of a young girl's eye, glory days--glory days, amirite? Seriously GOP--get over it. Reagan will come back no more, and the Gingrich lies ready for the Green Room and dreaming. Your time is not yet and the stars aren't right. Please to kindly not eat the American soul because you're feeling all nostalgic.

(X-posted at Rumproast.)