Feel better?
At Wednesday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on guns, it was refreshing to hear Milwaukee police chief Edward Flynn stand up to Sen. Lindsey Graham and challenge him on the argument he's trying to make for the cameras. Flynn wouldn't back down even when Graham did what he and others famously do in these hearings, to talk over the witness or put a halt to their answers when they aren't what the Senator wants to hear.
But aside from that, also notice when Graham asks Flynn this question: "Has your budget gone down in the last year?" Then "In the next year, do you expect more or less money given the budget situation?" When Flynn says probably less, Graham responds by saying that's just a reality, and that Americans need to know that because of those cuts to law enforcement, many police departments are faced with the same reality, and "less money means you may have to defend yourself."
What Graham doesn't say is that he is one of many Republicans who have forced the very cuts that place law enforcement and Americans in that "reality." You see how that works? Republicans, Graham, make the cuts, and then argue that due to "hard times" the average American may find themselves in the situation of having to buy more guns. More guns means more money for gun manufacturers and of course the gun lobby, who give generous donations to Lindsey Graham. Graham adds just a hint of fear here for emphasis, just to stoke the fires for those who may be watching in case they might want to head to the gun shop for another purchase now "just in case." Of course, it also earns Graham more credit from the gun lobby as a "stand up guy," especially when he's faced with reelection and a possible primary challenge from a member of the Tea Party who may be even more extreme than Graham is.
This isn't the first time Graham has used this argument. He did so at the last hearing on gun violence in January, which I wrote about back then. Then he specifically warned of cutbacks to come, saying he would vote against gun restrictions because of them. He used a potential "slow response time" from police as a reason during that hearing:
[...I can tell people throughout this land, because of the fiscal state of affairs we have, there will be less [SIC] police officers, not more, over the next decade. Response time are gonna be less, not more.
Graham may portray himself as a noble "fiscal conservative," but in fact his policies help perpetuate gun violence indirectly. He claims to "respect" the dangerous job that law enforcement do every day, but that's clearly not the case.
Watch for yourself:
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
