When you lose your crowd over vaccinations
Lindsey Graham is a walking, talking contradiction.
The longtime public servant has stood on principle for much of his adult life.
But there are times when he无毛视频檚 been known to crumble under the weight of some withering public scrutiny.
Let无毛视频檚 first look at his public service.
He was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Air Force in 1982.
He served on active duty until 1989 when he joined the South Carolina Air National Guard.
When he retired from the military, he had served for 33 years; served on duty several times in Iraq and Afghanistan; rose to the rank of colonel, and was the recipient of the Bronze Star.
Much of that while also serving at first as a South Carolina state representative, and currently (since 2003) as a U.S. senator.
He无毛视频檚 been busy.
Sen. Graham has, at times, been at odds with Donald Trump. He famously stood on the floor of the Senate on Jan. 6, and he signaled it was time to get on the with electoral vote count, while many of his fellow Republicans were objecting to certifying Biden had won it.
无毛视频淎ll I can say is count me out. Enough is enough,无毛视频� he announced on the day of the insurrection.
But he无毛视频檚 also freely sung Trump无毛视频檚 tune. He even sounds like him at times.
Back in August, at a rally in Alabama, Trump gave faint praise to vaccinations to fight COVID-19.
He hardly got the vaccine recommendation out of his mouth when he heard the boos emanating from the crowd.
无毛视频淭hat无毛视频檚 OK. You got your freedoms,无毛视频� he replied, with the knowledge that even he couldn无毛视频檛 sell his biggest fans on the benefits of getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
A similar scene was repeated last week when Lindsey Graham took part in a Republican event in Summerville, S.C.
无毛视频淚f you haven无毛视频檛 had the vaccine, you ought to think about getting it,无毛视频� he said matter-of-factly.
The response was immediate.
无毛视频淣o, No, No!,无毛视频� could be heard throughout the makeshift tent.
Graham thought fast. He knew he might not escape with his good Republican reputation intact.
无毛视频淚 didn无毛视频檛 tell you to get it. Just think about it,无毛视频� he added.
That didn无毛视频檛 work either. So, he added another defensive measure.
无毛视频淣inety-two percent of the people in hospitals in South Carolina are unvaccinated,无毛视频� he said in a way that sounded like he knew he was making a great point.
Nope.
无毛视频淥h, Lord. Lies,无毛视频� could be heard in the crowd.
Some fellow began yelling at Graham. 无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 going to lose my job in 60 days. You gotta stop it now,无毛视频� he proclaimed as if Graham could wave a wand and end any mandated vaccinations.
You could clearly see that the malevolence of the crowd was beginning to take its toll on Graham.
He did what Trump had done at his rally in Alabama a couple of months ago: 无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 with you about it being mandated. I无毛视频檓 with you that it无毛视频檚 probably unconstitutional,无毛视频� he added, with the hope that he无毛视频檇 no longer be the target of such unexpected derision.
Graham may have done better to have left it at being 无毛视频渦nconstitutional.无毛视频�
He didn无毛视频檛.
无毛视频淗ow many of you have taken measles shots?无毛视频� he asked.
(Note: That无毛视频檚 always a great question to ask those anti-vaxxers, who got the usual regimen of vaccinations as children. But who无毛视频檝e found curious reasons not to get them now.)
无毛视频淚T无毛视频橲 NOT THE SAME!无毛视频� somebody yelled from the crowd. By then, Graham was forced to ask, 无毛视频淎re you against the vaccine?无毛视频�
The reply from the fellow who said he only had 60 days before he无毛视频檇 be fired from his job without being vaccinated was, 无毛视频淣o. I无毛视频檓 against the mandate.无毛视频�
With that, Graham moved on to other topics.
If your only resistance to getting vaccinated is because it无毛视频檚 mandated, I suppose, then you probably can无毛视频檛 be convinced about how dumb that is.
Good luck.
In the meantime, I无毛视频檓 pretty sure there are some legitimate reasons to avoid getting jabbed.
Unfortunately, I can无毛视频檛 think of a single one of them.
Edward A. Owens is a multi-Emmy Award winner, former reporter, and anchor for Entertainment Tonight, and 40-year TV news and newspaper veteran. E-mail him at freedoms@bellatlantic.net.