Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) stands with Manchin (D-WV) over Rand Paul ad

Most people who know me know what I think of Rand Paul and it isn't much.  When I received the link to this story from a good friend, all I could think of was it figures out of Paul who I consider to have the ethics and integrity of a gnat.  Paul decided pay for an ad going after the Democrat Senator Manchin who is up for re-election to a full term after filling the seat after the longtime Senator Byrd died.  His reason?  Senator Manchin voted against a Rand Paul amendment cutting off foreign aid to Egypt, Pakistan, and Libya.  Now for the rest of the story:

The advertisements fail to point out Paul's legislation received just nine favorable votes, while 81 senators -- including 30 Republicans -- voted against it. 

Only nine Republican Senators voted for the amendment:  Crappo (ID), DeMint (SC), Grassley (IA), Lee (UT), Moran (KS), Paul (KY), Risch (ID), Roberts (KS), Shelby (AL), and Toomey (PA).

Senators Not Voting:  Boozman (R-AR), Boxer (D-CA), Burr (R-NC),  Heller (R-NV), Inhofe (R-OK), Kirk (R-IL -- recovering from stroke), Murray (D-WA), Rubio (R-FL), Vitter (R-LA)

With these votes totals against his amendment, Rand Paul still got mad and is advertising against some Democrat Senators including Manchin who is bi-partisan on certain issues but in the world of Paul and his little group with DeMint, being bi-partisan is a dirty word as you always have to be partisan even when it hurts the Country.  These two Tea Party Senators are perfect examples of Party over Country no matter what.

When you have an amendment that loses by that much and gets Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to back Manchin over the Paul ad, then Republicans have a real problem in the Senate with that Hard Right group of Senators.  Senator Graham has honesty and integrity which shows when he talks about foreign affairs being bi-partisan -- he is 100% correct on that point.  He is not afraid to put Country over Party which I would bet has him on the enemies list of the Tea Party in 2014.  Bet they primary him just like what they did to Lugar in IN when the Tea Party took out Lugar.

Really wanted to Take Back the Senate at the beginning of this election cycle but changed my mind with some of the Tea Party GOP candidates running for the Senate.  I would support Manchin in a heartbeat if I lived in West Virginia.  Manchin is by far the best person for the job and was happy to see him beat the Republican in 2010 who spends more time in FL then in WV and has run for so many offices in WV losing every last one of them.  He is a very wealthy person so he just keeps wasting his own money.  My prediction: Machin in a landslide.

October 9, 2012

Sen. Lindsey Graham stands with Manchin over Rand Paul ad 

By Paul J. Nyden 

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is running television ads attacking Democratic senators who voted against his amendment to legislation on Sept. 21 that would have cut off foreign aid to Egypt, Pakistan and Libya. 

Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va, and Bill Nelson, D-Fla., are Paul's first two targets.
"While they tear down and burn the American flag in Egypt and shout 'Death to America,' Joe Manchin votes to provide U.S. taxpayer aid to Egypt," Paul's 60-second ad states.

"While radical Islamists burn our embassy and kill our ambassador in Libya, Joe Manchin votes to send more taxpayer money to Libya." 

(snip)

The ad ends by stating, "Joe Manchin works with Barack Obama to send billions of our taxpayer dollars to countries where radicals storm our embassies, burn our flag and kill our diplomats." 

Manchin said many senators thought Paul's amendment may have been "well-intentioned but severely flawed." 

Manchin believes it would also have "jeopardized our greatest Middle Eastern ally, Israel.
"When we voted in September, I promised to work across the aisle to correct the problems and stop giving aid to countries that don't share our values and won't defend our interests -- and I am determined to get the right policy in place," Manchin said. 

On Tuesday, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., joined Manchin in a telephone conference call about the controversial ads. 

"A lot of debate goes on about foreign aid," Graham said. "Foreign relations are not a Democrat or Republican issue, but a American issue. 

"I very much would like to have a Republican president and a Republican-controlled Senate. But when it comes to foreign policy and the matters of war, I think we need to be bipartisan," Graham said. 

"Most Americans are war weary. We are broke. We are $16 trillion in debt. If I thought we could withdraw from the Middle East and we would be safe, I would do it. But we don't have easy choices available to us."  

Excerpt:  Read More at the West Virginia Gazette

My non-political comment about the article -- looked really strange to see the Big 12 advertised when I clicked on the link and then remembered West Virginia is our newest member.  Glad they are in the Big 12 this year.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is running television ads attacking Democratic senators who voted against his amendment to legislation on Sept. 21 that would have cut off foreign aid to Egypt, Pakistan and Libya.
Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va, and Bill Nelson, D-Fla., are Paul's first two targets.
"While they tear down and burn the American flag in Egypt and shout 'Death to America,' Joe Manchin votes to provide U.S. taxpayer aid to Egypt," Paul's 60-second ad states.
"While radical Islamists burn our embassy and kill our ambassador in Libya, Joe Manchin votes to send more taxpayer money to Libya."
The advertisements fail to point out Paul's legislation received just nine favorable votes, while 81 senators -- including 30 Republicans -- voted against it.
The ad ends by stating, "Joe Manchin works with Barack Obama to send billions of our taxpayer dollars to countries where radicals storm our embassies, burn our flag and kill our diplomats."
Manchin said many senators thought Paul's amendment may have been "well-intentioned but severely flawed."
Manchin believes it would also have "jeopardized our greatest Middle Eastern ally, Israel.
"When we voted in September, I promised to work across the aisle to correct the problems and stop giving aid to countries that don't share our values and won't defend our interests -- and I am determined to get the right policy in place," Manchin said.
On Tuesday, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., joined Manchin in a telephone conference call about the controversial ads.
"A lot of debate goes on about foreign aid," Graham said. "Foreign relations are not a Democrat or Republican issue, but a American issue.
"I very much would like to have a Republican president and a Republican-controlled Senate. But when it comes to foreign policy and the matters of war, I think we need to be bipartisan," Graham said.
"Most Americans are war weary. We are broke. We are $16 trillion in debt. If I thought we could withdraw from the Middle East and we would be safe, I would do it. But we don't have easy choices available to us."
Graham, who has traveled widely in the Middle East, said the U.S. already has criteria in place that could, under certain circumstances, terminate aid to countries like Egypt, Pakistan and Libya -- the three countries Paul's ad focuses on.
"Al-Qaida, the Taliban and radical Islamists would like nothing more than to have America withdraw from the region."
Graham then focused on the negative impacts from withdrawing all U.S. aid.
"If we stopped our assistance to Egypt at this point, that would destroy the Camp David accords -- the worst thing we could have done to the state of Israel. This new government in Egypt is a work in progress. We cannot write off the largest nation in the Arab world."
Graham believes the people who recently killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya need to be brought to justice.
"But they do not represent the Libyan government. Most people in Libya want to move forward, not backward," Graham said. "People in Libya want to go a different way. We have to help them."
Graham believes Pakistan is a very complex country.
"The Pakistanis allow us to ship supplies into Afghanistan and are working better with us killing terrorists on the Pakistani border.
"The Rand Paul amendment would have required us to withdraw assistance to these three countries that are critically important to our national security."
Several other Republicans spoke out in strong opposition to Paul's amendment last month, including Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz, and Bob Corker, R-Tenn.
McCain said cutting off all assistance to Libya "would abandon our friends to our terrorist enemies, destroy America's moral standing in the world, and do egregious harm to our national interests."
Corker believes "we need to reform foreign aid in a way that leads to greater accountability, but Sen. Paul's amendment is not the answer.
"If terrorists in any country that we are aiding trespass at one of our embassies or consulates, this amendment forces the aid to be withdrawn, even if the country is cooperating with us and working as an ally."
Reach Paul J. Nyden at pjny...@wvgazette.com