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Lindsey Graham: South Carolina’s Missing Senator

By: Mary Catherine "radicallyright" Sibley (Diary)  |  October 28th, 2009 at 09:32 PM  | 

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From the diaries by Erick.

Lindsey Graham is listed as on official member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, according to the Committee’s website, but when the Committee does business on Thursday mornings, Graham is conspicuously absent.  Insiders have indicated to me that this is beginning to aggravate the other Republicans on the Committee.

After Snarlin Arlen switched parties, the Democrats advantage on the Committee became overwhelming (12-7 margin), so Republicans need all the help they can get.  At least at the staff level, a number of Republicans believe that Graham needs to go.  One Committee Republican told me: “the Democrats have a dedicated group of true believers.  We have three Members heavily involved in health care and Graham is not one of them.  He could at least show up and pretend to be interested in helping Republicans.”

How bad is Graham’s attendance?  The Committee meets practically every Thursday morning.  Graham has attended only 5 meetings this year.  Al Franken, who joined the Committee in late July, has already attended 7 meetings.  Graham has attended only 2 meetings since Franken joined the Committee and he did not do Republicans any favors in one of those.  On July 28, he showed up to tell the other six Republicans that elections matter and that he was casting his vote for Sonya Sotomayor to be the next Justice on the United States Supreme Court.  If Graham had had the courage to vote no and had not basically gone down and kissed Sotomayor during her confirmation hearing, perhaps Republicans could have put up a better fight.

Republicans on the Committee refer to Graham as the “worthless” member.  One senior republican aide told me “his primary purpose appears to be cosponsoring democrat legislation that the rest of the Republicans oppose. Graham is the Ranking Member on the Crime and Drugs Subcommittee.  When the Subcommittee has hearings, Graham does not show up for those hearings and his staff is always asking for other members to serve as Ranking.”

In the environment Republicans are in, they could use some support.  They are apparently not getting any from Lindsey Graham.  The people of South Carolina deserve better.  Perhaps if the news gets out, they will call Graham and tell him to at least pretend to be interested in helping his fellow colleagues.  Graham certainly does not have a problem helping Obama.

COMMENTS

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  • clement

    He isn’t up for reelection for another 5 years isn’t he?

    I’ve always wondered how a state that could elect a Jim DeMint could also elect a Lindsey Graham.

    • http://www.erickerickson.org Erick Erickson

      They are such opposites. I’m a DeMint guy myself. I wish South Carolina had two of him in the Senate. I’d move over there in a heartbeat.

      • sccrenny

        “Goober” was reelected last year. Actually this would have been a good opportunity for a Hoffman-like move. The Democratic candidate was an ex-Republican who was to the right of “Goober” across-the-board.

        I published a letter to the editor in my local paper opposing Graham and voted against him in the primary (my first primary vote ever!). Then in the general election I voted for the Democrat because I couldn’t hold my nose tight enough to vote for “Goober”.

        Politically SC is divided with the upstate being among the most conservative areas of the country and the middle and lower parts of the state being moderate/liberal. In a nutshell native Sandlappers are ultra-conservative, but the coastal areas have a higher portion of “immigrants” from elsewhere.

        • sccrenny

          (I think I’m learning) The last paragraph was to explain that essentially our Senators somehow end up being split between the two areas almost as if they had “districts” to represent. If you remember SC used to be the home of Strom Thurmond and “Foghorn T” Hollings. Same dynamics.

        • MacAoidh

          …and in South Carolina it shouldn’t be hard to find a good conservative to run against that putz.

      • Karina

        I fought hard to get Gramnesty out of office last year but he had the backing of old school Repubs like Gingrich and McCain behind him. We tried to get rid of Rep. Henry Brown (another do nothing Republican) with a firebrand conservative with no success. People just keep going along with the names they recognize without understanding what these people do (or don’t do) once they’re in office.

        I went to the McCain election campaign headquarters for the lowcountry (Charleston area) to volunteer once he won the primary. The woman in charge was STILL mad at Bush for winning 8 years before. BDS isn’t reserved only for those on the left. I only helped one day and worked on local and state elections instead. It just made me ill.

    • Bobcat51

      to busy saving the world from Global Cooling to support his colleagues. Just another RINO !

      • misterbill

        “The people of South Carolina deserve better. ”

        I’m not sure I agree. In spite of Graham displaying his Left Leaning principles esp. om illegal immigration, he won re-election. I live in Georgia–I didn’t vote for him nor did anyone except South Carolinians.

        So we got what they deserve. Not fair!!!!!!

    • wayneepalmer

      … on Lindsey Graham, that sometimes the Southerners take loving their “sweet Southern Belles” a wee bit too far.

      They need to send “Debutante Boy” back to the bayou.

      Or at least make an effort to find his gonads.

      • dudette

        i thought he batted from the other side of the plate. sorry if i am wrong.

        • voxoreason

          …considered “hate speech.” If you say anything negative about any gay, the default position you find yourself in is “homophobe,” much like if you realize what an anti-American amateur Obama is (hence, teleprompters: he can’t even deliver a speech properly!), you are, by default, a racist. Libs can’t believe that some gays and blacks are okay, while some are street trash…just like whites and hispanics. Hitler was white and played the race card, and you can see where that got HIM!

          They’ll just have to ban me: I have no respect for Clinton (either one) nor Obama. This piece on Graham doesn’t engender much respect, either.

          I’ll bet there are tons of conservatives who make every effort to get along with everyone, but some people just make it impossible to like them. Why do only some Americans get a “right to privacy” (not in the Constitution), while others (often the same people!) demand “diversity”?

          On the other hand, when you think of the legitimate role Graham played in the Impeachment of Bill Clinton for violating his own “Sex in the Workplace” bill, then trying to suborn perjury (Bubba may come off like a serious person or a goof, depending on what he’s up to at the time) and consider how Graham has spent the better part of the last decade with his nose up John McCain’s arse (McCain’s major achievement in decades was introducing America to Sarah Palin, whom conservatives REALLY voted for), this guy can come across badly.

  • mfarmer

    but that’ almot impossible — however, with a lot of people in SC POed at the government and RINOs, it might happen.

    • harlan

      The folks of S. Carolina have the wisdom to elect a DeMint, and yet ….

      …Lindsey Graham? Are you kidding me?

      • WarEagle01

        Wow, that’s exactly what I was thinking. He’s worthless and he’s definitely a “member.” (I hope this double entendre is obvious enough.)

        • RedBeard

          …from all those “angry white guys” that he fears so terribly. The committees are just full of them, you know.

          That’s probably why he always looks like he’s about to break into tears; trembling fear of “angry white guys” lurking around every corner, ready to pounce.

        • sccrenny

          you’re not saying he is a useful idiot and a tool of the left????

  • RetiredFF

    The great state of SC has done great things for this country…History has proven it!!….Get rid of this Rino.. and keep the batting record.. Get rid of this Liberal Republican! Sorry dude, you are pathetic!

    • http://www.linkedin.com/in/williamgainey billg

      but when are we going to stop mouthing off about it and start doing something? I am too old and too broke to start thinking about a statewide campaign. However, there has to be middle aged men or women who actually have the true conservative values that we all seek? These people could be identified, vetted, interviewed and brought forth in a “state meeting at the Tea Party or 9/12 gatherings” where our new coalitions are being born. I would think we would want candidates who are honest, dependable, conservative, thick skinned and willing to undergo the slings and arrows that they would surely face. Then the candidate could be put into the D or R primary system if possible and then we make sure that the money and ground work be done to get the win and on to the general election and a win. The candidate could be a D-I like Joe Lieberman or a R-I like others and caucus with the Rs. If you don’t think that is possible, maybe a L who would caucus with the Tea Party crowd in DC. What do others think?????????

      • antisocial

        If the momentum can be sustained this is the best thing to have happened to conservatism since President Reagan. To take over the Republican organization is the solution.

        What makes you think you are too old and too broke to help? Don’t lose heart and get to your local GOP office as soon as possible. And join. And then change the party from within.

        If we can’t make this happen, a decade from now it will be impossible to fix the damage.

  • Banjo

    the sun don’t shine. Most likely it is in an internal cavity of John McCain. His hero worship of the RINO in chief approached embarrassing lengths during the campaign, the worst since Ol’ Bob Dole was thumped. Graham is the second most popular choice for the MSM on those rare occasions when McCain isn’t available to bad mouth the Republicans on TV.

  • claims1

    I live in the adjoining state of Georgia; we are not without our own state and national problems. However, when Lindsay Graham’s Townhall video made its rounds, one of his remarks just kinda stepped on my last good nerve “This is where the Republican Party is headed; if you don’t like it, leave”.
    You good people in south Carolina just sent this RINO back to “his” town for another 6 year term; he is your problem, but in a larger sense, he is my problem also. He, like so many others, develop a “God” complex, inside the beltway. If he is not speaking for you, then re-call him. Don’t cry that there is nothing you can do.

    • dudette

      its no “big tent” for you!!

    • sccrenny

      there is a provision for recall in SC… but I’ll most assuredlu check into it!

      • sccrenny

        assuredly?

  • reddwarf

    He played the race-card (“angry white men”, circa 1995) on us all – disgusting.

    He was responsible (in large part) for undermining the Clinton impeachment process, whilst publicly grooming himself as above the rancour &c., and only interested in the truth.

    I’ll say it again: he just played the 1990′s ABC / TIME / CNN / Newsweek / Air America / Pacifica Radio/ NYT / CBS race-card on us all.

  • jensue

    Lindsey is only conservative for 6 months every 6 years, the 6 months he has to campaign for re-election. I’ve only lived in SC for two years but it didn’t take me long to figure out Lindsey Graham is 1) the RINO poster boy and 2) to paraphrase Lloyd Bentsen, “He is no Jim Demint”. I remember the first radio ad I heard with the dear boy claiming to be a TRUE conservative, I damn near lost my lunch.

    I know we are stuck with him for five more years, and I know he is an embarrassment to the Republican Party, but maybe someone will emerge to challenge him in the next primary. Joe Wilson are you listening?

  • DavidS1787

    a law on the books where you can recall a public official. If they do the people should demand a recall…..

    • http://andrightlyso.com/ civil_truth

      Once they’re in, only their colleagues can remove them from office via a 2/3rds vote for expulsion.