Yeah for sure. Don’t get me wrong,I cant imagine why he is a senator in what should be a very conservative southern state,SC, makes no sense to me.
rodguy, Graham was a lawyer in Seneca, SC, (home of Clemson University), and a very conservative district, as is the whole Upstate SC area. Despite the contempt we all have for him, he is a smart fellow, and knew that to have a political career he'd have to play a conservative convincingly enough to fool the local rubes.
He made it to US Congressman and since he had to face re-election every two years, he pretty much minded his conservative P's & Q's and built his reputation as a "conservative". He then got his big chance to shine on the national stage as one of Henry Hyde's House Judiciary Committee impeachment managers in the Clinton impeachment debacle. (Even there he slipped up once and revealed a glimpse of his McCain-style triangulation/sabotage tendencies, but that can wait for another time... /g)
When Senator Strom Thurmond died the extremely powerful SC Republican Party establishment anointed him for the seat. As a US Senator only facing re-election every six years, and having a statewide voter base his electoral vulnerability disappeared and Graham was then free to "be himself".
He no longer has to worry about what the "bigoted" rubes he ostensibly represents think of him, and has told them so. He's not worried about his 2014 re-election because he's one of the insiders and fully expects to move on to bigger and better things in the new order by then... /g
Of course, I could have just given you the short version and said his entire political career has been a con... /g