July 13: Democrats remember Graham while forgetting what he did to their voters … McConnell surprisingly undead … Trump honors Graham with many-gun salute aimed at Iran … Platner formally withdrew from Maine Senate race on Friday, one million news years ago …
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Democratic senators on Sunday revealed a hell of a lot about how they see their jobs after the lifelong mission of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to compromise his principles was cut tragically short by a heart attack Saturday.
Sunday saw an outpouring of non-glee from congressional Democrats that centered on how Graham had treated them individually over the years, with no reflection of how Graham had collectively treated the people Democrats represent.
Here’s Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) going beyond her personal experience with Graham to dictate what all of us are supposed to think about him because she says so:
“…what can’t be forgotten is the reason why so many people he worked with—from senators to staff—will mourn his loss: Lindsey had a zest for life and the Senate that made you want to get to work on a bill with him or at least debate him. He brought joy to his job.”
Let history show that history has failed to rehabilitate Adolph Hitler with any variation of the phrase, “Hitler loved his work.”
More slapstick from Klobuchar: “Lindsey was loyal to friends and causes.” Sure he was. Tell that to friends and causes.
Klobuchar helpfully includes a tell — she adds the phrase “he worked with” to “so many people” — because on some level she knows that millions of people Graham didn’t work with — but worked on or worked over — will not remember his zest.
And let the record that Klobuchar forgot show that it was Klobuchar who declared Christine Blasey Ford more credible than now-somehow-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh when it was Graham shepherding Kavanaugh through the nomination process by bullying Ford and Klobuchar’s fellow Democrats.
And it wasn’t just comity-worshiping “centrists” lamenting a Graham irrelevant to their constituents. Here’s Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA):
Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) led his tribute with “Lindsey Graham fought hard for the things he believed in.” As with the previous Hitler example, that’s a bug, not a feature, when what you believe in is putting people in cages.
Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) went a step further, explaining that we all have work to do:
So, no!
First of all, KINDA BUSY SAVING DEMOCRACY.
Secondly, also busy HELPING THOSE BEAT DOWN BY GRAHAM.
Thirdlyishly, I realize Kim’s new to the Senate, but how can we help “those he [Graham] loved” when they’ve been a state secret for decades?
So what are we supposed to think about all this? Do congressional Democrats crave media endorsement of their bipartisan hearts? Clearly.
But failing even to note the price that Graham exacted from their own constituents reveals just how profoundly subordinate that is to concerns about image or craving for media approval or even to merely using the platforms their constituents gave them to express their personal feelings.
Worst case: It’s the kind of performative empathy or virtue signalling that many of them sneer at when it’s on behalf of individual or abstract people without power or fame or affordable access to zest.
Trump’s not the only politician to conflate themselves with their job. Congressional Democrats shared their personal experience of Graham’s death, revealing their personal perspective on Graham — and how violently it differs from ours.
Their dominant experience with Graham wasn’t at the speartip of his policies, it was at the fingertip of their fist bumps. Their mistake is in gauging the essence of their congressional fellows — and deeming them as “good” — based on proximal civility and bonhomie instead of based on the wholesale horror that they cause.
Which is a mistake of essentialism but also narcissism. They are literally the only ones who give a shit how charmingly Graham shined them on. Their job is to represent their constituents, to reflect how those constituents suffered under Graham.
These tributes may be symbolic, but they’re also the underlying problem made manifest.
BONUS If you’re not signed up for TFN Bonus Stories, you probably missed Sunday’s entirely respectful TFN Graham obituary. (Note: It was more respectful of those Graham has fucked over than it was of him. Because he fucked us over.)
DEEP CUT Klobuchar touted Graham’s support for Ukraine … and yet it was Klobuchar who helped right-wing Ukrainians build a prayer network that then extorted Ukraine into welcoming right-wing Christianity in exchange for U.S. funding.
MEDIA WATCH I fail to understand the scolding against reminding people of all the evil Graham did. After all, he was ashamed of none of it and gleefully reveled in it.
Why then should we hide it now? How’s this: “Graham was a proud defender of forcing pregnancies and denying food and health benefits to women and kids.” Better?
And if the reason not to say that now is because we — or the media — know full well that it was bad, then maybe we, especially the media, should have fucking said so at the time.
Oh, and kudos to those who pointed out that Graham himself had no such compunctions about respect for the dead. Unlike his critics, Graham was willing to lie about the dead, smearing Renee Good as attacking the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent who killed her.
CONSPIRACY THEORIES Evidence of a naturally occurring heart attack is overwhelming. And remember, Graham was a patriot before anything else. His heart may have failed him. But first it failed America.
FINE, IF NOT CONSPIRACY THEORIES, HOW ABOUT IRONY? Reportedly, first responders first responded to Graham shortly before 8:30pm on Saturday. They couldn’t get in because the door was deadbolted.
At 8:35pm, a crew asked police to come help them force the door even though Graham was not an immigrant.
It wasn’t until 15 minutes later that medical personnel radioed in that they were doing CPR.
We’ll probably never know whether Graham’s instinct to deadbolt the door cost him his life. If it did, it would be multiply ironic.
Graham, his party, and Democratic co-conspirators have scared Americans for decades into thinking that maximal security measures make us safer.
And if that’s why Graham deadbolted his door, despite Trump claiming Washington now has less crime than Wakanda, then Graham’s last act was to tell us with his dying breath, at the cost of his life, that, yes, it’s true: He never believed Trump, either.
BODY APPARENTLY ALREADY COLD Less than 24 hours after Graham’s death, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) was on the phone with Trump asking to replace Graham, because Graham was dead.
Horrified, Trump obviously admonished Norman for failing to observe a respectful waiting period. Ha, no.
Trump said, “Give me a week,” the traditional mourning period for extorting maximal endorsement bids from the broadest pool of candidates possible.
Also considering a run, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC). (Both Mace and Norman lost the gubernatorial primary.) The primary to replace Graham on the Republican ticket is set for Aug. 11.
The Democratic candidate is Dr. Annie Andrews, whose campaign website is here.
MORE IRONY Graham’s last known words were “I can't die now. I still need to do the Russia sanctions, get Iran sorted out and do Israeli-Saudi normalization.”
Fact-check: Four dead Pinocchios. In fact, Graham could die then, when then was now. And he did. Fittingly making his last statement yet another instantly disproved lie.
EVEN MORE IRONY Graham died doing what he loved, denying someone vital health care.
McConnell Resurrected to Spite Everyone Who Was Sure He Was Dead
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) — spoiler of conspiracy theories, thief of Supreme Court seats, obstructor of Black presidents — rose from the online dead on Sunday, apparently the lucky recipient of Lindsey Graham’s last life energies.
McConnell revealed that he’s still alive, still working, and will return to the Senate even though he’s old. Which I only mention because McConnell explained that his age makes it difficult for him to tell the truth:
“…folks of my generation often hesitate to share the vulnerability that comes with growing older. Even in the public eye, I feel that same instinct – I can’t help it.”
With his usual grace, McConnell addressed his statement only to people in his state, and didn’t even mention Graham, even though he apparently wanted people to know he’s keeping up with the news, because there’s Saturday’s paper:
In fact, McConnell’s only allusion to Graham was this mischievous little zinger: “I didn’t have a heart attack or a stroke.” Unlike some people he could eulogize!
McConnell’s new picture proved definitively that he’s alive, alert, and happy. Or that he was exposed to deadly Joker gas.
McConnell didn’t confirm having 20-minute conversations with the various Republicans who swore that he wasn’t dead yet.
But he did say his doctors tell him he can’t return to the Senate yet. Which means he can’t cast votes that Republicans desperately need as Congress returns this week. Which means McConnell’s doctors are the real heroes here.
PARALYSIS If you were looking for an upside to McConnell’s persistent breathing, his McRaculous return from beyond the Styx indicates a poor prognosis for the massive new Republican military-spending bill. It totals a record $1.5 trillion, which is a lot to spend on no new wars.
With McConnell not yet dead enough to be replaced, and not returning to the Senate yet, the bill can’t get through the defense-spending subcommittee that he chairs, or gurneys. One possible solution: Replace McConnell as chair, even though I’m sure that would kill him.
Trump Pays Loving Tribute to Graham with More-Than-21-Gun Salute at Iran
It’s what Lindsey Graham would have wanted. Pres. Donald Trump is back at war with Iran more again still. The Strait of Hormuz is again more dangerous than a deadbolt. And oil prices are bouncing back up like Mitch McConnell.
The New York Times reports that a quiet flow of tanker traffic under the previous “cease”-fire came to an end with Trump’s signing of the U.S.-Iran Memo of Understanding because Point 5 is so poorly worded that Iran’s understanding is that it now has control of the strait and the U.S. understanding is that Iran didn’t get the memo.
It’s not clear how the Memo of Understanding ended up with a loophole big enough to pilot an oil tanker through, especially given that negotiations were overseen by Trump’s real estate buddy Steve Witkoff, son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Vice President JD Vance, who’s worked in government for more than three whole years.
After Iran on Sunday struck a container ship, the U.S. conducted a loving tribute to Graham, firing a lotta-guns salute at Iranian boats and military targets that somehow still existed despite being obliterated in the previous Iran Wars that Trump definitely won.
Iran obviously responded by bombing some of America’s remaining allies.
We are now halfway through the 60-day period established by the Memo of Understanding for additional talks to resolve issues around the strait and Iran’s nuclear development.
One Iranian negotiator, parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said Monday, “The era of one-sided deals is OVER.” He added, “We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking.” Well, too bad, Iran, because Graham locked the deadbolt.
Skip Your Breakfast or Skip This Story…
The National Mall reflecting pool has sunk to second place in the Trump administration metaphor rankings. Exploding into first place is the parasite causing explosive diarrhea because Pres. Donald Trump cut the funding to track it. (h/t)
The number of cases is soaring toward 2,000, with most states now reporting outbreaks.
HuffPost reports that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stopped controlling, preventing, or even monitoring the cyclospora parasite in July 2025. The CDC’s FoodNet program used to track eight foodborne pathogens but now tracks two.
At the time, the CDC said the cuts were no big deal and critics were making a mountain out of a gooey brown molehill. That prediction turned out to be less than solid.
HuffPost helpfully inventories other health risks made worse by Trump cuts, including flesh-eating parasites, bird flu, and domestic violence against pregnant women. Toss in international aid, and we can include Ebola and the Hantavirus.
Prior to the current outbreak, the Trump administration’s uncontrollable streams of shit have occurred mostly in presidential press conferences.
Five Quickies
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has another side hustle! He’s not just also America’s acting archivist and acting administrator of foreign aid and interim national security advisor, now it turns out he’s running Venezuela in his free time. As in, Viceroy Rubio is handling Venezuela’s money, the New York Times reported. Raw Story spoke to scholars who described Rubio’s viceroying as “impeachable” and “insane.” Not only is Rubio now working with alleged Venezuelan criminals, the future of their elections is still far from clear. (We feel ya!) On the plus side, Rubio’s spending less time secretary of stating here and I’m pretty sure rulers of foreign countries can’t run for president of the U.S.
The Washington Post has new reporting on the U.S. fuckups that led to the deaths of six soldiers on day one of the Iran War. Survivors of the Iranian drone strike tell the Post that commanding generals ignored intelligence warnings. This all sounds pretty similar to what CBS has been reporting for months, but maybe with the Post now putting it on page one Congress will start looking at this. The Army has done an investigation of the attack and is now shielding the results of that investigation.
The Republican refusal to fund and mandate body cameras for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) paid off big time last week. When an ICE agent killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo on Tuesday, ICE claimed he had tried to drive into the ICE officer, because that claim is standard ICE protocol in the event of murdering someone. And goldarn it, there were no body cameras! Well, turns out, ICE forgot to ice three witnesses, who say ICE is lying just like it always lies.
Remember Graham Platner? Okay, today you remember him, but for how long? Platner formally withdrew from the Maine Senate race on Friday instead of Monday, as expected, so everyone forgot about him when the other Graham died politically and biologically. Maine Democrats will pick the replacement nominee at a July 25 convention of 601 delegates and state committee members.
Coming up next in the Paramount purchase of Warner Discovery, including CNN: Lawsuits! With the Justice Department rubber-stamping right-wing media accumulation, only individual states are left to try to block the purchase and save Wolf Blitzer and Jake Tapper from having to air stuff that’s even more right-wing than it is now. California is leading the suit, expected to be filed this week, along with New York, Washington, and Connecticut.
Taking Action
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has his confirmation hearings this week and TFN will be newsfucking this fucker’s record. But you don’t have to wait for any of that to call your senator (see link at the top of today’s TFN) or send a statement telling them fuck no. Politely, of course!
TCB
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Go get ‘em, kids! And thanks for all your kind wishes about my health. It’s just a cold. I can’t die now!
TFN creator and writer Jonathan Larsen co-created Up w/ Chris Hayes and wrote for Countdown with Keith Olbermann at MSNBC, helped launch CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360° and Air America Radio, and has also worked at The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Young Turks.
Rumor has it that Texas Republicans will act to allow dead Republicans to continue to hold office. They believe that a dead Republican in office is better than the risk of a live Democrat. Further rumors suggest that the Texas Republicans will push the theory further for eventual testing in the U.S. Supreme Court, by appealing to Mitch McConnell family to bury him in Texas so they can run him for elected office. “We should not lose our best to death; especially in Texas (where silent Republican votes are considered assent and consent and are counted)” a spokesman was heard to say. South Carolina spokesperson was said to have been heard muttering “damn good idea.”
[Parody is a terrible thing to waste when the world is such a target-rich environment]!
I still love Elizabeth Warren. She was the first politician I ever financially supported - in my whole voting life. But, she could have stuck to the the last sentence of her posting, and been perfectly polite, and socially correct...and she should have.
Graham was a smarmy little git back when he was a congresscritter prosecuting Clinton. He remained a smarmy little git for most of the rest of his life. He did speak the truth on occasion. For example: "You know how to make America great again? Tell Donald Trump to go to hell." But, he didn't let his lapses into ethics and truth happen very often.
Sympathy to those who loved him and will miss him - I won't, and even if I were a politician, I would not say that I would. Mildly disappointed in some Democrats. I'm too old and cynical for any major disappointment, because I don't expect that much of any politician - even the ones I like..