A while back Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham stupidly suggested that Russian leader Vladimir Putin be assassinated.
Graham said of Putin, “The only way this ends, my friend, is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out.”
On Wednesday, Graham repeated his wish, and added that his old friend and mentor, the late-Sen. John McCain, would agree with him.
Graham was asked, “Do you stand by your call to have Putin be assassinated?”
He answered, “Yeah.”
Then Graham added, “I hope he’ll be taken out, one way or the other. I don’t care how they take him out. If John McCain were here, he’d be saying the same thing, I think.”
McCain never suggested assassination
During his long career Sen. McCain spoke often and harshly about Putin. Among other things, calling him a murderer and a thug.
But he never called for his assassination. Not after Boris Nemtsov, leader of Russia’s main opposition political party and chief critic of Putin, was assassinated.
Not any of the other times the senator publicly lamented the fact that so many of Putin’s critics and rivals had themselves been assassinated by what McCain referred to as “Russian state terrorism.”
No.
I don’t believe McCain would call for Putin to be assassinated.
Basically because assassination is terrorism, and we are better than that.
All you need to know about McCain’s stance, and how he would feel, and whether he would agree with Graham, can be found in the Congressional Record.
The very idea of America is at stake
On May 12, 2011, Sen. McCain said this during a debate on the use of enhanced interrogation techniques against terror suspects.
Torture.
He was vehemently against it and said in part:
“This debate is about far more than technical or practical issues. It is about far more than whether torture works or does not work. It is about far more than utilitarian matters.
“Ultimately, this is about morality. What is at stake is the very idea of America – the America whose values have inspired the world and instilled in the hearts of its citizens the certainty that no matter how hard we fight, no matter how dangerous our adversary, in the course of vanquishing our enemies, we do not compromise our deepest values.
“We are America, and we hold our ourselves to a higher standard. That is what is at stake.”
Yes.
Exactly.
Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Would John McCain have called for Vladimir Putin to be assassinated?
