Every time Lindsey Graham tries to work his way back to the conservative fold, he blurts out something in a way that hurts not just Graham, but all Republicans.  For his long history in the U.S. Senate, Graham has reliably been the Republican's answer to "foot-in-his-mouth Joe Biden."  And that Biden sound-alike contest–winner has just done it again.

Given Graham's frequent attacks of Bidenitis, it shouldn't be surprising that Graham blew the roof off of the January 6 issue by publicly claiming that Republicans are ready to take street action.  If President Trump is indicted, he said on Fox News, "there will be riots in the street."

Graham on Gowdy's program.  YouTube screen grab (cropped).

For eighteen months, Republicans have been trying to persuade America of one simple fact regarding the January 6, 2021 storming of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.  Riots are for the progressive left — not for the more reasonable, law-abiding Republicans.  We may have been making some progress in turning Americans' attitudes around about January 6 — it's hard to tell because the polls are so often left-leaning that the results are questionable.  Still, Republicans have a track record of respectful, legal, constitutional advocacy for solidly conservative positions with regard to government.

However, thanks to Lindsey Graham, the lid is now off.  He just legitimized the antithetical idea that Republicans do take to the streets with violence and hatred.

Remember the Tea Party, and especially the Tea Party Express?  Hundreds of thousands of conservatives from across the country staged peaceful protests that broke no laws.  There were no arrests, and Tea Partiers left no public mess.  Literally, they cleaned up after themselves.  More important, they took reasonable, logical positions on potentially divisive issues known to the larger public, and without arrests, violence, or property destruction — let alone human injuries or deaths.  Even despite the liberal media's desire to avoid reporting anything positive about the Tea Party, the word got out that Republicans and conservatives respected the spirit of the laws and the Constitution.

All that can now be consigned to the dustbin of history, thanks to the senior senator from South Carolina.  Here's what he said:

Most Republicans, including me, believe when it comes to Trump, there is no law.  It's all about getting him[.] ... There is a double standard when it comes to Trump.  What happened with Hunter Biden is that the FBI weighed in to make sure the story didn't break before the 2020 election.  We now have whistleblowers at the FBI telling Senator Chuck Grassley that they were told to slow down and back off Hunter Biden. And I'll say this, if there is a prosecution of Donald Trump for mishandling classified information after the Clinton debacle ... there will be riots in the street.

Wow, where did that come from?  From the FBI and Hunter Biden to...riots in the street?

Who knew?

Graham has offered a blazing inducement for Progressive Liberal state attorneys general to step up to the plate and indict Trump before the midterms, confident that this will incite conservative riots in the street...riots that will hand the House and the Senate back to the Democrats.

With Graham's statement — whether it's a threat or a promise isn't clear — no Republican can expect a fair hearing on January 6 when we say "that ain't us."  Because our own senior Senate leader says, in effect, "Hell yeah, that is us!"

It will take time, space, and patience to get past this, but Graham has made this odd event into legitimate news for the 2022 midterm elections and the 2024 presidential election.  Thank you, Lindsey.  It's nice to know we can count on you to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.  However, if the Republicans lose the House and the Senate in November, we'll at least know whom to thank: Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).  Unfortunately, that's no surprise.

Ned Barnett cut his teeth in politics in South Carolina in the 1970s, at a time when Republicans had a huge imbalance of voters in a traditionally Democratic state.  He wrote speeches for two sitting governors and provided campaign support for the successful re-election campaign of a Republican congressman.  He also worked with the late, great Lee Atwater on President Ford's election campaign, handling media and strategy for the state Ford for President Campaign.  He also testified, twice, before Congress on conservative health care issues.  In addition to contributing to American Thinker, Barnett works with authors, providing ghostwriting, coaching, editing, publishing, and marketing/promotion efforts for authors and their books.  He can be reached at 702-561-1167 or nedbarnett51@gmail.com. 

Photo credit: CC By 3.0 license.