Posted on 06/04/2005 9:28:03 PM PDT by CHARLITE
NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) - Sen. Lindsey Graham's role in a compromise on filibusters against President Bush (website - news - bio) 's judicial picks did not go over well with some GOP regulars in this Republican state. The first-term Republican, who in 2002 succeeded Strom Thurmond, was among 14 lawmakers - seven from each party - who abandoned their leaders and reached a deal among themselves. They agreed to confirm some of Bush's stalled federal court nominees while leaving the door open for rejecting others.
"It's one of the hottest issues I've seen since I've been chairman," said Katon Dawson, South Carolina's GOP chairman for three years. "There was a lot of heartburn inside the base of the Republican Party. President Bush won 70 percent of the counties in the United States and people wanted his agenda moved forward."
Hundreds of people have called state Republican headquarters to complain about Graham's participation in the negotiations. Graham's role has given Charleston businessman Thomas Ravenel further reason to consider a primary challenge to Graham in 2008.
Ravenel, the son of a former congressman, finished third in a crowded field in last year's race for South Carolina's other Senate seat, now held by Republican Jim DeMint.
Ravenel does not like Graham's positions on trade and objects to the senator's Social Security proposal to increase payroll taxes on those earning more than $90,000.
"He has long since offended the fiscal conservatives," Ravenel said. "More recently he has offended the other Republican coalition - the social conservatives."
Those same social conservatives were instrumental in derailing Arizona Sen. John McCain's "straight talk express" bid for the presidency five years ago in South Carolina's GOP primary.
In 2000 Graham supported McCain, a driving force behind the filibuster deal two weeks ago. By 2002, however, Graham had mended his fences with President Bush's supporters.
"Some people said they did not intend to have two John McCains in Washington, D.C., when they voted for Lindsey Graham," said Beaufort County GOP Chairman Doug Robertson.
In an interview with The Associated Press last week, Graham was confident he would weather the storm.
"This state respects senators who are independent, who share their conservative values and who treat their colleagues with respect," he said. "I'm not going to conduct myself in a way where I'm the loudest guy and I'm not going to be satisfied with rhetoric that gins up a small group of people."
Graham said the deal gives the Senate a fresh start and allows lawmakers to consider some of Bush's judicial nominations. Changing the approach to filibusters is still on the table if the compromise fails, he said.
But even in his home county, some people said Graham's role in the negotiations was out of order, according to Oconee County GOP Chairman Ed Rumsey.
"They wanted him to stand firm and have an up-or-down vote on every candidate," Rumsey said. Still, he added: "Lindsey Graham is our hometown guy. We're going to stand by him."
In strongly Republican Lexington County, most people thought the compromise was "typical Lindsey," said Tim Miller, the county's GOP chairman. "He said: 'Look, we can't allow something like this to bog down the country. We need to do what's best for America.'"
South Carolinian Roberta Combs, president of the national Christian Coalition, said the compromise was not what the conservative group wanted.
"What people were upset about and what I was upset about was these judges had been waiting so long and you couldn't get them to the floor," she said.
But she does not think Graham's base is damaged.
"In politics a day is forever. Only time will tell," she said. "I don't think this is going to hurt Lindsey because he is strong on defense and supports the president on the war and has been a team player."
Doug Woodard, a Clemson University political scientist who often serves as a Republican consultant, said Graham always has had an independent streak and a flair for attracting attention.
"He's got the best political instincts of anyone I have ever seen," Woodard said. He noted that Graham won, without any primary opposition, the GOP nomination for Thurmond's seat, which had been coveted by South Carolina politicians for decades.
Graham said that while some people will disagree with the compromise, he and most Republicans want to achieve the same thing - getting more conservative judges on the bench.
"For some people in politics it's not enough to agree with them on the issue, you have to hate the people they hate," he said. "I'm not going to be a hater. I'm going to be a solid conservative and a reformer."
That's a pretty dumb thing to say. Ignoring the world around you is how we got into this judicial activism position in the first place! It's about time Americans stood up and bitched about the dictators in black and demanding somethimng be done about it.
Do me a favor. Never run for office.
No, I would not. I don't know the people from Mr. Grahm's office that well.
Now, answer the questions I put to you. :-)
Now, answer the questions I put to you. :-)
I've posted this before, but I'd rather have a Demorat majority Senate, without ANY RINO's than a Republican Senate where you have RINO's, and are under the illusion
that you have a Conservative Senate, when you really don't.
How can these states keep on nominating RINO's, when they stab you in the back every time?
the face = to face!!
How's that any dumber than the original statement that prompted it? It infers that you need to pay attention.
You can be independent on a lot of things but this is not one of them. Taxes and killing babies are 2 others.
I disagree with the whole removing the cap thing, but removing the cap can be defending from a Conservative standpoint on the Barry Goldwater standard. Namely, Goldwater was known of being suspicious of revenue reductions, because while he wanted to trim government, as long as government was big, you needed to take in enough money so that you wouldn't run a deficit. That's just normal economics. If you or I ran the kind of deficits the national government runs yearly, we'd be bankrupt.
And FWIW, Barry Goldwater was dead wrong in quite a number of things and grew less and less Conservative, as he aged.
Of course if your "moderate Dems" want to give up their say in who their own Senatorial and Presidential nominee is they can take a Rep ballot and vote for their beloved Lindsey who they support in their 50/50 letters to the editor. Yeah right!! If you think they love Lindsey so much they will do that you are as delusional as you are naive.
I don't care what the left wing media has to say. The Republicans won big this time because of judges. People who have never voted before in their lives ran to the polls this time. The 7 serpents sold their souls to the devil.
My troll alert just went off. I will still give you the benefit of the doubt, but I will say that you aren't a Conservative. There are certain principles that a Conservative does NOT compromise on. Principles buddy, principles.
Nam Vet
Maybe you should learn a little more about our political realm, newbie, before spouting off your left wing agenda here.
I can defend it easily
It helped save the Republican Party from having to bite the bullet on what was a very divisive issue at a time that the President's poll nummbers are falling. This gives President Bush time to boost his popularity ratings a bit. The last thing we need to be doing is putting a guy with 45% national approval ratings in a difficult position. We have to look to 2006 now, because truth be told, the Democrats are not in a bad position anymore. Terry Schiavo is the main thing that I think has turned off alot of people. I'm pro-life, but I disapproved of what the Senate did because I believe it went against states rights, which I hold to be sacrosanct. Now, my Congressman is not losing my vote for it, but I think Congress has more important things to worry about than the Terry Schiavo case.
Shadow government? What are you some kind of conspiracy theorist? Do you honestly think that anything goes on in Washington without everybody knowing it? They didn't go behind anyone's back their was no coup d'etat (a nice french word). They did exactly what they were elected to do talk to each other! Oh my goodness what a horrible thing! Most of the Judges will get reccess appointments anyway so nothing was lost.
As for SS, since the '80's I've been told it will run out before I can ever collect, so you know what I'm not counting on it and have made my own investments so, whatever happens happens. And honestly, I'm still researching the information about private accounts and the other plans that have been bandied about for SS reform. All of the plans have pluses and minuses. I don't know for sure which one I endorse. And you still need to read my earlier post abot South Carolina election law.
BINGO!!!
This whole fiasco is NOT about compromise! It is voluntary capitulation, a power play for personal gain by the '08 crowd.
It is a denial that representative government is an expression of the will of the people.
So, confirmation is NOT being allowed to proceed as it should, as the AMERICAN voters have declared, because a few have admitted personal designs on the future. That's disgusting!
"The Republicans won big this time because of judges. People who have never voted before in their lives ran to the polls this time."
I'm not so sure that judges were the driving factor alone. In fact, I didn't think the Republican campaign emphasized
the Judges issue enough. But why do we keepon nominating RINO's as Republican candidates? I'd rather lose the darn seat than elect a RINO, because you're just kidding yourself if you think he's (she's) a conservative.
He grew more and more Libertarian as he aged, and from what I was taught, a Conservative is someone who believes less government is better, a liberal is someone who believes bigger government is better.
This country would be alot better off if Barry Goldwater had won and I am willing to say it. Barry Goldwater was the reason that my parents stopped being Dixiecrats.
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