Graham brushes off congressman's criticism of 'kamikaze' remark

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Wednesday stayed on the offensive when responding to criticism of a prior comment he made comparing the Democratic healthcare push to Japanese kamikaze attacks.

"Nancy Pelosi, I think, has got them all liquored up on sake and you know, they're making a suicide run here," Graham said this week the Keven Cohen Show on WVOC radio in Columbia, S.C.

"My comments really reflect the fanaticism of the Democratic leadership. I don't know whether it's sake or moonshine but no sober person would do this," Graham said on Fox News. "What I would ask the congressman to do is stop this process for all Americans. Japanese-Americans included do not need to lose their choice in health care."

Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.), a Japanese-American who spent 14 months as a child in a World War II internment camp, had issued a statement Tuesday, saying he was "disheartened" at Graham's language.

“I am disheartened that Senator Graham chose to use racially tinged rhetoric to express his opposition to health care reform," he said in a statement. "There is a way to engage in healthy debate without alienating Asian Americans, who are an important part of this democracy and healthcare reform."

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