Lindsey Graham

The passing of Senator Lindsey Graham.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:18

Welcome back to another edition of the Free Agent Fans Podcast. Mike Jr. coming at you, and I'm flying solo today. I am true to the cause recording this on a Sunday. What are we at? July 12th? I had a topic that I was gonna talk about, but shifting gears today. I'll pick back up next week with what I was planning to talk about today. Shifting gears a little bit. Usually I do Sunday rants. This will post tomorrow. Tomorrow, Monday, July 13th, but and we have some more topics coming up on the 27th. We'll have the fellas together. Hopefully nothing changes that not no schedule changes. We'll have a new podcast with the entire group on the 27th. But Monday the 13th, you're getting me. And also the 20th, you'll also get me. But I shift the gears because of the passing of Senator Lindsey Graham. And I've said before on podcasts that I'm an independent. So it's not like I'm uh I'm not a Republican or a Democrat. It just got me to thinking when I think it was probably around 2 30-ish in the morning this morning. My wife said, I was getting up to use the restroom. My wife says, hey, Lindsey Graham just passed away. So it's kind of early in the morning, uh maybe two, three, whatever. And I remember thinking to myself, hmm. Kinda good ridden, you know, which is a very shitty thing to think. And so I had to really reflect and think, okay, why do you feel that way? Why do you, you know, because being an independent doesn't mean you don't have compassion for someone passing away. And I had to I had to think about that for a minute. Which I didn't think that way because someone died, thought that way because of who this person was to me and the legacy that he's leaving behind. And when I think of Lindsey Graham, I think of a well, first of all, before I get too deep in this, I do want to express my condolences to the family. And because I'm not, this is not going to be a podcast just bashing. This is going to be a revelation. It was a revelation podcast. I mean, it was a revelation moment for me when my initial thought was, well, and good riddance, kind of, you know, just dismissive, but I do realize that when, who was it? Past presidents or senators or whatever politicians passed away pre-Donald Trump, I didn't have that same reaction. You know, like Ronald Reagan, I was a kid when he passed, but I didn't think, oh, good riddance. You know, it was kind of sad, you know. Well, I wasn't a kid when he passed, but I was a kid when he was president. And when he did pass, I didn't think good riddance, you know. I thought, oh wow, one of our former presidents is gone. Same with Daddy Bush, same with Jimmy Carter, all these guys. And here we fast forward to Lindsey Graham, and I have a totally different, I guess, reaction to hearing that he is no longer with us. And I had to reflect and think, why? Why is that? And it came back to the legacy that those previous presidents, senators, whoever, the legacy that they left, the pre-Trump era. Whether you agreed with their politics or their policy, I found that I still respected those men. You know, I respected Reagan, I respected Carter, I respected Bush. But people in Trump's cabinet, I have zero respect for. And just gonna get that out there and say that because you to me I see them as just stooges who are just following a diabolical, dementia-filled, maniacal, narcissist, pedophilic, child molesting creep that nobody wants to stand up to. And so in my mind, is either you agree with what he does and you're doing it too, you just haven't gotten caught yet. Or you just so focused on financial gain or whatever it is you're getting from this guy that you don't really care about America. The one thing that you claim to care so much about. America this, America that. And you let yet you're watching this guy just piss on the fabric of what America stood for, what it was when Ronald Reagan, Daddy Bush, Carter, when all those guys were in office. You're just watching this guy Tronson step all over it and piss on it. And so I had to really sit back and think, like, okay, that sucks that I feel this way, but why? And I started thinking about this guy's legacy. I've watched him on Meet the Press and I've watched him backpedal and defend Trump and not answer questions and a whole bunch of nonsense that, you know, it's like, dude, I have zero respect for you. Same with uh Mitch McConnell and and I see this, the comments online, you know, people like, oh, Mitch McConnell. I mean, it's some really cruel stuff out there. Mitch McConnell is, excuse me, near death, Lindsay's gone, is Trump next, you know, things like that, which I don't condone that. I don't agree with it. I would say that I would probably have the same reaction if one of them were to leave this world. It would be kind of one of those things like, eh, oh well, you know, because I view them as poison. So, poison to the system, you know, just just not good people. And because here's where I have the problem with if you don't, if you say, oh, I'm not a racist, and Trump has proven he is a racist, all right. So let's get that out. Uh, you know, you can come and try to defend, and well, what makes him a racist isn't that he's done more racist things than David Duke in my mind. He's just a little more undercover with it. You know, David Duke was in your face. Am I saying that right? The Klan member or whatever. I think it was David Duke. But anyway, he was right there in your face. Trump is behind the scenes. You know, I'm gonna say a little bit here, say a little bit there, but I am truly who I am, and that's a racist. And the sad part about that is I liked Donald Trump when he was Donald Trump before I knew who he was. Truly who he was. He's showing his true colors now that he has become president, but I liked him when he was in Home Alone, you know, it was funny, you know, he was a funny guy, he was pretty cool, billionaire. You know, Jet said this before I knew, this is before I knew he was a pedophile and all this other stuff that has come out, racist, all that. And had no problems with him. You know, and if you're listening to this, you think, well, why you got a problem now? Because he's a racist pedophile. That's why. It's just like I liked R. Kelly before I found out he was a child molesting pedophile. So for me to continue to be like, oh, okay, you know, like supporting Trump for me, which is what all these guys did, Lisney Graham, Mitch McConnell, all these guys supporting this guy saying you're supporting what he does. Now, I can make the argument, yeah, but you st you still listen to R. Kelly's music, you still listen to that, but and for those guys, okay, yeah, if you still watch, what was it, The Apprentice or things like that, you still watch a Woody Allen movie, he's a pedophile too. You still support uh what's the guy? Harvey Weinstein movies, okay. Yeah, we know he's a real crick and molesting whatever, rapist, whatever he was doing. Okay, I can kind of support that, but my thing is if they still out, I mean, like, for me, it's it's it's it's as if Or Kelly was out and he was still doing music while sitting while a 12-year-old girl sitting on his lap and he's singing. You know, that's a problem. For me, that's what Trump was doing. He was telling you who he is and you were still supporting him. Now, it doesn't make it right if you don't know who he is, but I mean, you can't blame yourself if you don't know. But once you know and he's still doing it, then who's in the wrong? You know, you gotta you gotta check your own moral fiber and say to yourself, okay, how far am I willing to go down this road before I have completely destroyed my legacy? And for me, people like me, I just automatically assume that, okay, you support what he does, and you're probably doing it with him, you know, because if I'm standing in that studio watching R. Kelly with this girl bouncing on his lap, this underage child, hey man, I gotta look at myself in the mirror and say, you know what, dude? You know, and a lot of people, you know, if you watched the R. Kelly documents, a lot of people came out saying that, you know, uh I felt bad, you know, but it was my livelihood. I couldn't say anything. And we all get into those situations, but this guy was a senator, man. He didn't, his livelihood wasn't in jeopardy. I mean, yeah, this guy was canceling people and all this and that, but all it would take is for somebody, you know, I think this guy was high. I think Lindsey Graham was high enough on the food chain that he didn't have to bow or bend the knee to Donald Trump. But that's just my opinion. You know, uh, people like Mitt Romney and McCain, was it McCain's daughter? They probably beg to differ because they've just kind of disappeared because they disagreed with Trump. But I think it's just sad. So I was watching, you know, I was thinking about that and I was like, yeah, the dude's legacy is really crappy in my eyes. You know, and if you don't know who Lindsey Graham is, he's he's a former, he's a former attorney and Republican State Senator out of South Carolina. I probably should have lived with that, but there you go. So I decided to watch Meet the Press this morning just to see what they were gonna say. You know, of course, I watched, I watched the show before that with Willie Geis. Is it Good Morning America? I don't know which one of them, but it's on Channel 5, NBC. Shout out to Willie Geis, one of my one of my favorites. But watched Meet the Press with Kristen Welkers. Shout out to her. She did a great job as well on this show, and it kind of really, it really set things straight, I guess I would say, for me and how I viewed all of this because she had, of course, she had the president Donald Trump on, and he spoke about it, and I think he did a really shitty thing. You know, he had to throw in the fact that, oh, he really wanted my Great America act or whatever the hell passed, you know. It's like, dude, show some, show some kind of class and just mourn the man and stop trying to get holdout Republicans to say, well, I'm gonna go ahead and vote for it in honor of Lindsey Graham. Because that's what he was going for, you know. The guy's a real slime ball, he's a he's a prick, and we all know what he was trying to do there. But so anyway, she had him on, he spoke and said some nice things after he got through trying to promote his agenda about Lindsey Graham. But what really touched me was when she she had a bunch of other panelists on there, she had the that everyone, America's favorite coon Tim Scott, on there, who I don't care to hear anything that comes out of his mouth, you know, is if if you look up House Nigga in the dictionary, you'll see Tim Scott's face. And the hilarious thing about it is he's proud of it. He knows he's a house nigga and he's gonna be that's what he is. He's proud of it, and he's he's gonna bow down and do what he can. So when the cleansing comes, Master's gonna take care of good old Tim Scott. Lord he be. But he was on there and said some things. But what really got me was Val Demmings. She did the panel, and Val Demmings was on the panel. And if you don't know who Val Demmings is, she is a former police officer and former U.S. representative for Florida's 10th district. She represented Florida's 10th district from 2017 to 2023, I believe. And do believe she's a Democrat. But what Val Demings said about Lindsey Graham, and she's African American, so let's put that in context. And I'm putting it in context because Lindsey Graham is European American or Caucasian, she's African-American or black, however you choose to call it. But what she said about how he treated her really, really, really made me I don't know. I don't know if the term is sad or in awe or disbelief or whatever it is. It just really made me feel like, you know what, this really sucks that this one guy is, and when I say this one guy, Trump, is just destroying the legacy of otherwise what could have been considered good people. And I say that because I don't know Lindsey Graham. I didn't know who he was until he started sucking up to Trump. You know, and I saw that he did go against Trump when he was running for president. He had some negative things to say, and that, and all those guys who had things to say about Trump but then started sucking from the teet when he became president, I just found it disgusting because, you know, it just shows your hypocrisy that either you didn't really mean what you said, you were just trying to get in office, which makes sense because it's just what you're trying to do. But still, you know what I'm saying, have some kind of, I don't know, backbone or character or class to stand on what you truly believe, so which makes me believe that these guys support what he does because none of them stood on it. They will say it, but once he's in the office, well, it's okay, you know, he's the president now, so I'm just gonna let him do all of these nasty things that he did that I believe he did when I was running against him, but now I'm gonna support him. I just, I don't know, it's just gross. But anyway, what Val Deming said was how he treated her when he he she said he reached out to her. And I don't know the whole context of it. I know he was, he had something to do with, he was one of the acquitters uh uh of Trump's uh, I guess, impeachment or whatever. He voted, whatever. And she had something to do with one of those trials or something in the Senate or whatever. And he reached out to her, she said, and he made her feel very welcomed and safe. I can't remember her exact words, but he pretty much called to help her not be nervous, you know, to kind of ease in, kind of like a like an old veteran quarterback when the new quarterback comes in and you take him under your wing and say, hey, look, you know, this is how it's gonna go, be careful of this, watch out for that. She said this guy pretty much did this for her. And then I say, also I say, shout out to Christian Welker for ending the way she ended the show and the interviews that she had outside of Tim Scott, uh that really showed this guy in a light that he should be remembered for, as opposed to just being one of Donald Trump's lackeys. He seemed very charismatic, great sense of humor. I mean, just an all-around opposite of what I felt he was, just because I only knew him as being someone who saddled up to Donald Trump and just did whatever Trump's beckoning call is, how I viewed him. And it just really sucked because he seemed like a guy that, you know, would have been one of those normal Republicans pre-Trump that you would have had respect for when he passed, as opposed to what I see him now. And a lot of the country, you just got to go out online. I'm not the only one that feels this way, guys. A lot of the country is saying and feeling the same things like, uh, okay, well, bye. You know, it's just kind of like nonchalant, you know, the passing of this guy because nobody really knew who he was pre-Trump, you know, and this one monster has poisoned the system so much that everything else gets wiped out because of who you're hitching your wagon to now. And it really sucks. It really, really sucks because I don't think it's fair to Lindsey Graham, but I don't know, man. I don't know his his, you know, I don't know. I don't know if he was doing, but from what I saw, there's two sides to the story. And, you know, you gotta pick what side. You know, for me, I don't like who he saddled up to. I don't like his politics and what he became under the Trump era, for what I saw under the Trump era. But based on what I saw pre-Trump and some of the things that people said about him while he was still in the Trump era, it changes things a bit for me. And I'm not gonna, I'm not converting to being a Republican or I'm not finna wear a pen, you know, saying with Lindsey Graham's name on it, but I do have a different, I guess a different vibe, a different feeling on the passing of this US representative, U.S. Senator. Yeah. It changed things. So what am I saying here? It just really sucks. You know, you gotta sometimes you gotta dig deeper and peel back some of the layers just to see who people really are. And I think it's tragic that people don't think about that before they just dive right into nonsense and ignorance. You know, you don't think about your legacy, you don't think about the impact that it has. You know, you just get so caught up in appeasing one person and his fan base, you know, with some of their backwoods ideology and ways of thinking, to where, and like I said, either you agree with it, which he very well could have, but I think there that he does have some moments where in my book, I would just say, for lack of better terms, he was sane. And I don't see the current Trump supporters as, you know, like all these senators and people that go to the extremes for this guy. I don't see it as sanity, I see it as ignorance. And that's just how it is for me. These are my opinions, and you know, you can take it or leave it. You can go to the website, thefreeagentfans.com. You can post how you feel. I've posted I got thick skin, so you it doesn't bother me what you say. I just won't respond, I won't go back and forth with ignorance. But because we all have an opinion, so I do want to say condolences to condolences to the family, to Lindsey Graham's family, and may he rest in peace. Everything isn't always what it seems, you know. I wish things could have been better, and I just hope that somehow his legacy isn't always attached to Donald Trump and what we saw under the Trump era. I hope he's given a fair shake and people see the whole picture and not just a part of the picture. And, you know, people may ask, well, why do you care? They don't do it for black people. A lot of black people like Bill Cosby, he's gonna be persecuted the rest of his life for this or that. You know, it it takes time and it takes an individual person. This is me. I'm gonna choose. You know, I never was a supporter or a fan of this guy. I didn't know who he was, like I said, pre pre-Trump, but I can certainly see a change in how I feel about his passing because of the person as a whole, as opposed to just somebody that I saw as a Trump lackey. So there it is. I didn't think I would spend 22 minutes talking about this, but let's try to do better, people. You know what I'm saying? About, I mean, if that's who you are, that's who you are. Just be who you are, but be the best who you are, you know. And maybe he was the guy before pre-Trump, and then maybe he was the guy after. But I find it hard to believe because of what he did for Val Demings, at least what she said he did for her during the Trump era. I know there was a heart in there, and there was a man who truly probably more than likely cared about this country and its people, regardless of skin color. And it sucks that now he's probably going to be labeled as a racist Trump supporter by a lot of people. But here we are. This is the polarized America that we live in now because of Trump. And I don't know what it's going to be like after post-Trump and who, because I don't see JD Vance as being any different if he were to win the election or whoever is coming up out of that mega pool of whatever. I don't see it getting any better as long as those guys are still have those views and those ways. So we'll see. I guess just sit tight, we'll see what happens. Shout out to the US soccer team. You guys tried, but didn't quite get there. I have chosen to not mention the name of the team that beat them. I know who it was. I just don't want to mention it because I'm still in my feelings about it. I wish we could have gone further. But here we are. Who am I rooting for now? I would probably say go England, London, England, what is it? England. I would probably say go England or I think England, Spain, France, and who else is still in there? Okay, we lost to Belgium, so what? But I would probably say, and I don't think Belgium's still in it anymore, but I would probably choose England, I guess. I don't know. I haven't really watched it, I'm not gonna lie. I haven't watched any of it since the US has been out. But I think it's good for the country, it's good for the world to see all these other countries come over and support their team and just enjoy some of the some of the good stuff that's left in America. You know, the kind is it's still out there, you know, it's still a good place to come and visit and see some of not everybody's MAGA and not everybody's extreme left, whatever they're called. There is still some good middle of the road people that just want to have fun, see other people enjoy life and have fun as well. Next week, either next week, I don't know if I'm gonna do this one by myself, but I do want to get the feather, I don't want it to get too old though, but I don't know if you guys are hearing about this young black kid that was killed. Well, let me back that up. I want to say, I can't say he was killed because he died. Okay. So I want to talk about that. His name is Nolan Wells. I don't know if I'm gonna do it next week or if I'm trying to hold out until I'm with the group because I would like to get some other opinions, but I don't want it to be too old because it's it's everywhere right now. They have enlisted Ben Crump as their lawyer. Like I saw them with uh Al Sharpton. I mean, just everybody's chiming in because it's suspect. It's in Mississippi. And, you know, Mississippi has a history of racism, like this entire country does. But anyway, so basically, long story short, this kid went on a 4th of July trip with some of his friends. He's the only black kid, and he went with three of his white male friends. I have been talking with the group, the fellas, for the longest. I wanted to do a podcast on can whites and blacks be friends, you know, just kicking the tires, because, you know, in full disclosure, I have white friends, and I think I trust them with my life. I don't I don't think if I went on a trip with my friends, I would have this type of suspicion. And but I want to do a topic on that, you know, just to see, like, you know, how bad is that racial divide and that disconnect? Like, can we actually connect as friends on a human level as opposed to just seeing color? I think we can, but anyway, that's a topic for that podcast. But this kid ended up, his body ended up washing ashore, and there's a lot of controversy around it because the three white friends, they left him on a boat, they left, they left the left him on the island, and I think it was Horn Island or whatever in Mississippi. They left him there, and he was supposedly talking to some girl, but they had his cell phone. They deleted some chat message, Snapchats, and some text messages, and took a while to get the phone back from him. You know, it's just a lot of suspicion going around. And I believe one of the kids' parents, one of the white kids' parents, is a judge in Mississippi. So stay tuned for this one. I mean, it may not be old by the time we podcast on it because it looks like you know they're not even pressing any charges. Uh I think the police chief came out and said he, or sheriff, whatever, he came out and said he don't see any foul play. He doesn't think there was any foul play. Like, you haven't even done an investigation, dude. How can you say that? I see foul play already with these guys. Why would you, as a teen, give these guys your phone? Hey, I'm gonna stay here and talk to this girl, but you guys take my phone. No teenager's giving up his phone. So, in my opinion, they they did something to this dude. Maybe it was an accident and they are afraid, you know, to say something because they also have a recording where they you hear the kid, Nolan Wells, the black kid saying, Give me my phone, what's wrong with you, or something like that. Something to that effect. So, I don't know. I'm gonna try to pull that one up, see if we can uh get that one with the fellas, or maybe I'll do something. I'll do some more research and see what happens within this week. Maybe I'll talk more about it. Maybe I'll do a lead up, maybe I'll talk about it next weekend, then get the fellas' opinion the week after. That might be what I'll do. So stay tuned, guys. It's gonna be a long week for me as far as work goes, but I hopefully, hopefully the sound quality is getting better. I'm still working on it. Like I said before, you know, it's kind of hard for us because we all have jobs. Only one of us is retired. And I'm pretty much the sound and whatever guy. We got another guy that does audio video, JB, and he'd be the video guy once we start videoing. But I'm just IT, so I'm not really audio video. So I'm working on it, trying, but it's hard because I do have a job that pays the bills that I have to go to. So just bear with us if we have sound. But I'm trying to monitor it more and work on it. I'm watching my volume levels, and it looks like I get a little low at some points here, but hopefully not. I'm gonna listen to this and hopefully it's still just good enough to be heard. And we'll see moving forward. I'm gonna try to get better. I'm gonna keep improving on it. You guys stay safe, have a blessed week. Check out our website, the freeagent fans dot com. Stay blessed.