In the unlikely event that Lindsey Graham becomes the 45th President of the United States, you can forget about pesky laws like the Posse Comitatus Act. In Graham’s America, the work of the people will be done even if that work has to be compelled at gunpoint.

According to a report via Mediaite, Sen. Graham recently insisted that he is so opposed to the mandatory cuts to the military’s budget contained within Sequester that he would order the American armed forces to make Congress reverse them. “Literally.”

In brief audio obtained by BenSwann.com, Sen. Graham purportedly suggests he would use the military to restrict the movement of Congress until they complied:

…[A]nd here is the first thing I would do if I were President of the United States: I wouldn’t let Congress leave town until we fix this. I would literally use the military to keep them in if I had to. We’re not leaving town until we restore these defense cuts. We’re not leaving town until we restore the intel cuts.

Asked for comment or clarification, Graham responded to the right-leaning website with this boilerplate: “Due to the large volume of mail I receive, I regret that I am only able to respond personally to inquiries from South Carolinians. [emphasis added]

Now, maybe Graham was using the word “literally” in the same way that Joe Biden uses the word “literally,” meaning “figuratively.” In that sense, perhaps he was reaching for levity by threating, a la Boris Yeltsin, to order the shelling of the Capitol Building in order to see his preferred legislative priorities enacted. But the senator from South Carolina does have a history of indulging in rhetorical excesses.

Allahpundit has been all over the “Lindsey Graham is terrifying” beat for some time:

Yes, Lindsey Graham is a scary guy http://t.co/WXrQZM9ANT http://t.co/v6iLK2WiHt http://t.co/S01GzbvJfU

— Allahpundit (@allahpundit) March 11, 2015

Each one of those items is worth a click. From wondering whether bloggers deserve the First Amendment protections extended to journalists, to suggesting that being at war means being able to ban protected expression like the burning of Korans, to censoring letters sent by civilians through the U.S. mail, Graham seems to have an unhealthy infatuation with extraordinary wartime measures that the country ultimately comes to regret.

Maybe he was just joking. He couldn’t possibly be serious, right? But Lindsey Graham has a habit of reaching for the absurd when it comes to imposing martial law on private citizens. That’s not an appealing trait in a presidential candidate.