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."
I think that South Carolinians did not consider Graham a RINO when they elected him. Although he did support McCain in 2000, he seemed to have backed off that and campaigned on Bush principles. Same as Mark Sanford. And for those as myself that still had misgivings we had no choice as he ran unopposed in the primary. That will not happen again even if I have to run myself!
For a one-term senator....
Please read post #52. Open primaries do not mean that Dems can vote in both parties elections. We all have to declare a party to vote. 2008 is an important Presidential election year. Do you really think your "moderate Dems" will give up choosing their own nominees to help "moderate" Lindsey? Do you get the point yet?
I don't either, but the MSM made a bigger case out of the story than it was. The American people, when given the facts about Terri's case, had 75% supporting Terri. It'll have no adverse long term affects on Republicans. They were the good guys.
Yes, but we would have put control of the Senate at risk in 2006.
The option will be exercised anyway, but when it is exercised it will be EXERCISED BECAUSE THE DEMOCRATS BROKE THE DEAL
Which means we can run on them against us next year?
Whereas before the deal they were the "helpless victims" and would have whined the following when next years elections came up, and they could have picked off a few Senators too.
Now, when they renege, they'll be the dealbreakers, the doublecrossers, the ones who can't be trusted. It will be just like Kerry and his waffling on Iraq. It will be a campaign bonanza, and we might even be able to take out a few of the Democratic 7.
There are really no Dems in south carolina there are Republicans and Republican Lite.
I understand the need and can tolerate RINOS in blue states when the alternative is a Rat. But here in SC there is no good reason to have McCain loving RINO Lindsey Graham occupying what should be a solid conservative Senate seat. He has to go.
"Remember, the Majority party is the party that controls the operations, who would you rather have setting the Senate agenda, Bill Frist or Harry Reid?"
What have the Republicans in the Senate accomplished with our so-called control so far this year? Zilch, nada!
Why? Because although we have a "majority, we don't have an ideological majority, which is the only thing that counts.
If you nominate only Conservatives, at least when we win, we really win, and aren't fooling ourselves into thinking we have a majority than can get something done , when we really have nothing of the sort.
You have less than NO knowledge it understanding of much of anything. "Coup d'etat" is a TERM, not a word. And yes, there was one.
They DID go behind many peoples' backs.
Everyone in D.C. did NOT know what this bilious gang of 14 were doing, nor that they would pull it off, nor when they planned on doing so.
I am the least person on this site, to believe conspiracy theories and/or wear tinfoil.
Look up what a "shadow government" means. Obviously, you are unfamiliar with the term.
No, the gang of 14 did NOT "do exactly what they were exerted to do" and since you believe that, it is you, n00b, who need an education.
"MOST JUDGES WILL GET A RECESS APPOINTMENTS ANYWAY SO NOTHING IS LOST". Hunh? In what universe? According to who? Because the president hasn't allowed these judicial nominees to be stalled for 4 years, and has just given every single nominee a recess appointment, all along? Is that it?
The president wants to institute PRIVATE savings for SS. Your man, Graham, wants to enact SOCIALISTIC, stick it to the wealthy, punitive tax raisings ....but YOU "like him" and because you are already saving for your old age, you don't give a damn about higher taxation. Have I got that straight? Or are ya gonna back-peddle, yet again, n00b?
I read your post #25; heck, I've read ALL of your pathetic replies. You came to this gunfight armed with a paper clip. You're a whishy washy middle of the roader, on a CONSERVATIVE forum. That means that what you actually are is ROADKILL.
75%, exactly where are you getting your data from.
Even a poll in Alabama showed that Alabamians were against the whole thing.
The fact is, the Schiavo thing is sad, and I think the husband is a creep, but that does not justify the intervention of the federal government. And while on the subject on judges, if I remember right, 2 judges on the 11th circuit wanted to hear the case, and one of them was the Clinton appointee.
Now explain to me why the Clinton liberal appointee thought it deserved a hearing, but all those conservative Republicans (including Pryor) didn't want to hear it?
The press is still trying to spin Graham a lifeline I take it?
Lindsey, I hate to break this to you, but the base has a long memory. Conservatives have a long memory. Let's just provide an example of what I mean.
Conservatives did not take to the streets in protests numbering in the millions when the Democrats repeatedly got in our face with the mantra "selected not elected". Most quietly went about their business for four years, and then Nov. 2nd silenced them with near 4 million votes over the Dem candidate in the popular vote.
Conservatives will silently fume about what you did the next four years. It will not always be above the surface but your actions will be remembered and we will bide our time. With the primaries come out there will be an explosion of activity that I'm certain will go unreported by the usual MSM lap dogs. Ravenal or whoever challenges you will receive the support of a national grassroots effort led by people that have patiently stewed about this Judas Pact for four years.
Working to our favor is your insistance you know better than the constituents that sent you to office, that their opinions do not count, that you will continue to side with McCain, that McCain will continue to be a thorn in our necks, that the RINO's will keep the outrage building, that you will push for policies that are NOT conservative such as raising our taxes...even IF people wanted to let the past go you and the RINO's will make it impossible. Just as the Dems made it impossible by working our base up far more than they worked their lunatics for four years.
The same state that defeated your beloved King in the Republican primary will defeat his sycophant.
Actually, Gene Taylor's Congressional district includes the Mississippi coast. It's HEAVILY Republican. It's Trent Lott's old seat, and last year, Bush carried it with something like 75% of the vote.
Taylor got 77%
I actually had to call Taylors office regarding a transaction that I was doing in Long Beach. He's a nice man
Yes, he had a Libertarian bent, but the older he got, the more LIBERAL he grew.
As to your parents, have they voted a straight GOP ticket ever since 1964?
"I think that South Carolinians did not consider Graham a RINO when they elected him."
I think you may be right. Wasn't Graham on the impeachment committee? The other problem is, aside from the RINO's, or maybe because of them, the whole Senate is a clubby atmosphere, where Demorats pretend to befriend Republicans
during non-election season (most of the time), the naive Republicans buy into it, and change their priorities from
a Conservative agenda to "getting along".
This is what might have happened with Graham. He bought into the Senate as a "club", and abandoned his Conservative principles. How do we stop this? That's the jobof the Republican Senate leadership, which has failed miserably.
Tell Judge Pickering that if you even know who he is.
Lindsay must believe the voters have short memories.
He either believes it, or is hoping they'll plumb forget about what happend in a year's time.
Coup d'etat is French for "stroke of state" I left the s of of word. Sue me.
It was widely reported on all news channels that these guys were meeting to try and form a compromise. Hell, several had been attempted by other members of the Senate.
They needed to get this issue off the agenda, it was going nowhere.
And a reccess appointment is not something to shirk off. Presidents have used them too thier advantage many time before.
I have not backpeddaled on anything I have said. I don't care about the debate on SS that is going on right now about SS. It has been going on for years, it will continue to be debated about long after I am dead and gone, so I'm not going to depend on SS. That is an issue that will never be resovled private accounts or no private accounts.
Do you not know that most judges who get reccess appointments go on to get confirmation. It is harder to "not confirm" a judge who is already sitting in the position than one who is not. Do you not get it?
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