Lindsey Graham: Maybe the US should boycott the Olympics, or something

If Russia grants America's most-wanted whistleblower Edward Snowden amnesty, the United States should seriously consider boycotting the 2014 Winter Olympics, says South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham. During an interview with NBC News Tuesday, Graham criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin and recalled the pre-World War II Berlin games hosted by Adolf Hitler's regime in 1936.

"I love the Olympics, but I hate what the Russian government is doing throughout the world," Graham said. "If they give asylum to a person who I believe has committed treason against the United States, that's taking it to a new level."

I don’t know if putting the Olympics on the table is the right answer, but I do know this: What we’re doing is not working. #Russia

— Lindsey Graham (@GrahamBlog) July 17, 2013

NBC has more:

Why consider boycotting the Olympics, set to be held in Sochi, Russia, beginning in February 2014? Graham says that playing host of the Games gives Russia a propaganda platform to promote itself at a time when, he contends, the Russians are responsible for enabling Iran's nuclear program, threatening Israel and supporting Bashar Assad in Syria.

"If you could go back in time, would you have allowed Adolf Hitler to host the Olympics in Germany? To have the propaganda coup of inviting the world into Nazi Germany and putting on a false front?" Graham said of the Games.

"I'm not saying that Russia is Nazi Germany," Graham added, "but I am saying that the Russian government is empowering some of the most evil, hateful people in the world." ...

"What I'm trying to do is let the Russians know enough is enough. How much more are we going to let them get away with before we make it real to them?" Graham said.

Russia is scheduled to host the Olympics next February in Sochi, a city on the Black Sea near Georgia.

In the meantime, House Speaker John Boehner says Graham is "dead wrong":

“I love Sen. Graham. We’ve been close friends for 20 years. But I think he’s dead wrong,” Boehner told reporters when asked about Graham’s comments on Capitol Hill. “Why would we want to punish U.S. athletes who’ve been training for three years to compete in the Olympics over a traitor who can’t find a place to call home?”