Graham's First Act as Prez? Sic Military on Congress

To get them to reverse defense, intel budget cuts
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 12, 2015 9:33 AM CDT
Graham's First Act as Prez? Sic Military on Congress
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, speaks during the Iowa Agriculture Summit, Saturday, March 7, 2015, in Des Moines, Iowa.   (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Lindsey Graham is still talking. His latest headline-worthy quote: If he becomes our next president, the very first thing he will do is deploy the military. Against ... Congress. "I wouldn't let Congress leave town until we fix this," he said yesterday at New Hampshire's "politics and pies" forum, referring to the budget. "I would literally use the military to keep them in if I had to. We're not leaving town until we restore these defense cuts. We are not leaving town until we restore the intel cuts."

As Vox notes, the quote implies Graham would use the military to force Congress to actually pass a bill, not simply to vote on one, since his stated goal is to "restore" the cuts. Sounds like a "coup" if taken literally, writes Amanda Taub. And though Graham did, indeed, use the word "literally," his office later clarified to Mediaite that the senator "was employing over-the-top humor to win over his audience." (More Lindsey Graham stories.)

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