‘Leningrad Lindsey’: Russia-baiting senator gets taste of own medicine as xenophobic hashtag trends

A trending Twitter hashtag, created to shame Lindsey Graham for his alleged un-American ways, has brought Russia-baiting full circle, with the senator now on the receiving end of the mass paranoia he helped foment.

#LeningradLindsey began trending after the South Carolina lawmaker helped push a controversial asylum bill through the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday. The hashtag, featuring the Soviet-era name of Russia’s St. Petersburg, has been used by critics accusing Graham of unbecoming conduct. This is after he waived protocol to help ensure the legislation would pass committee and receive a vote in the Senate. His alleged foul play apparently makes him Russian (or Soviet)… or so the logic goes.

“#LeningradLindsey is breaking procedural code, lying to the American people, and has betrayed the principles this country was founded upon,” one indignant person wrote, seemingly unaware that Graham is one of Washington’s most enthusiastic Russia-baiters.

Graham has repeatedly called for Russia to “pay a price” for allegedly meddling in the 2016 presidential election, and insists that Moscow is “up to it again” as the 2020 race looms. The South Carolina lawmaker has also been one of the most vocal supporters of sanctions against Russia, co-sponsoring legislation in February aimed at strengthening legislation known as the “sanctions bill from hell.”

The hashtag comes on the heels of another Russia-themed trend, #MoscowMitch, which has been widely used on social media since Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell last week blocked two election security bills. As a result, the Kentucky Republican was accused of being a “Russian asset.”

Russia as of late has been the go-to scapegoat for anything that the American electorate might not like. In a notable and recent example of this casually xenophobic phenomenon, Democratic presidential hopeful Tulsi Gabbard has been smeared as a Russian-bot-supported stooge after the Hawaii congresswoman tore into rival candidate Kamala Harris’ record as a prosecutor in California.

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