Lindsey Graham; the new Jimmy Carter
I remember in 1980 that our grand strategy for defeating the Soviet Union after their invasion of Afghanistan the year before, was to boycott the Moscow Olympics. Remember how well that worked? Yep, it hit the Soviets so hard that they were forced to withdraw from Afghanistan eight years later. It was a close won thing, but our perseverance in the face of adversity triumphed.
Well, of course, I’m kidding. The boycott hurt the Soviet Union not a whit, in fact, they took a lot more medals than they would have if we’d showed up, and some young athletes had wasted years of preparations for a weak political point.
So, according to the Washington Times, Lindsey Graham is proposing that we boycott the upcoming Olympics again over the Eddie Snowden discussion;
“I would [consider a boycott]. I would just send the Russians the most unequivocal signal I could send them,” the South Carolina Republican said in an interview with The Hill newspaper. “It might help, because what they’re doing is outrageous. We certainly haven’t reset our relationship with Russia in a positive way. At the end of the day, if they grant this guy asylum, it’s a breach of the rule of law as we know it and is a slap in the face to the United States.”
Just think of the potential outcome – eight years from now, Russia might turn over Snowden. Yay! Another win in the “never learn from history” column. Of course, drawing on Jimmy Carter’s legacy is what this administration does best.
Category: Congress sucks, Foreign Policy, Jimmy Carter
Another sign that our elected officials have no clue.
Boycotts are easy and involve no personal risk. That they are rarely successful is not important. The symbolic gesture is all that matters.
I think that letting Snowden live as an “Elite” member of Russian society would be the perfect punishment. A govt sponsored Apt,some brand new 1970s era furniture, reruns of the cocbu show and all the free medical he can handle.
Oh and 2 rolls of toilet paper a week,whether he needs it or not.
I’ve stopped being surprised by the stupid comments and CRAP coming out of Washington.
So, young men and women who have been training for years for their shot at the Olympics are to be used as pawns? I have a better idea. Why doesn’t Congress go on strike for a couple of years. No new laws, no new appointments approved, no nothing. I, for one, would be happy to pay them their full salary to do nothing.
@5 – Sadly, we’re already paying them a salary for doing nothing.
What gets me is that Graham is a Republican! He is following in the footsteps of the worst POTUS (well except for Obama) we ever had. All a boycott will do is rob some dedicated athletes of the chance they have trained so hard for. Yes 2/17 let’s use the least effective, most moderate measure to deal with a loser like Snowden. I hope he rots in Russia. Like someone else said, high living in Moscow is a faded, paint peeling studio apartment with bare minimum furniture and if you are lucky a fridge the size of a small wine cooler. We need the guy with the tattoo bar code on his head to find him and pop in in the a–hole or the head, they are one and the same for this creep.
Another clear sign that Washington has run out of ideas and is just phoning it in…..
With all due respect to the good colonel, it’s about time he return home to SC for good and enjoy his SC ANG and senate retirement benefits and stop making an ass of himself…
Further proof that the Republicans have their full share of idiot douchebags, too. What does he suggest after the boycott fails – a sternly worded note? Perhaps even a vote of censure in the Senate? THAT’LL leave ’em quaking in their boots and teach Snowden a real lesson.
Yeah, let’s screw ourselves again… that’ show them Russkies!
Here’s an idea – let the Russians keep him. Forever. Freedom to leave this country is just not exercised enough. Good choice, Snowden!
@12. He must owe taxes. I hope the IRS and his state are moving on that! He may have some assets to grab.
@10. There is no shortage of clowns in the Republican party. I guarantee that if I gave you a transcript of what many of them have said over the last 10 years, and I did not tell you it was a Republican, you would swear that the words were those of a Democrat. What this country needs desperately is conservative constitutionalists. The Dems/Repubs have no good answers and they are both busily burying the country and drwoning future generations in debt.
Yeah the boycott worked so well that the Russians decide to have one also. They boycotted the 1984 Olympics that were held in Los Angelas, CA.
Why would we blame the Russians for any of this? They’re as much in the muck with him as we are, politically. I’m sure if they thought we’d support them in the action, they’d shoot Snowden themselves, just to be shed of him.
And boycotting the Olympics is just asinine, for whatever reason.
Tool.
Closeted old queen.
@15 – plus you just know that whatever they wanted off his computers has long since been downloaded, copied, analyzed, and probably found to be nothing they didn’t already have.
“At the end of the day, if they grant this guy asylum, it’s a breach of the rule of law as we know it and is a slap in the face to the United States.” How so, Lindsey? Putin is just taking advantage of Baracka’s new “flexibility”.
A strongly worded note of disapproval. Yep! That will work about as well as it does for the UN, i.e., not at all.
Roll over & go back to sleep.
Whatever happened to Snowden’s stripper girlfriend?
I guess everyone gets their 15 min.
Jimmy Carter gave Nicaragua and Zimbabwe to the Communists and tried to give away South Korea as well…
May the Lord rebuke him. And Lindsey Graham. And John McCain.
Lindsey Amnesty is a total moron, and McCain is his prophet.
Bedwetters a pair.
#2, anyone who stands in the way of me getting to see the boys in red, white, and blue sodomize that little bitch Cindy Crosby in Sochi is in severe personal risk if I get my hands on them.