Modeled After Sen. Graham

Two years ago when I traveled for the campaign of John Edwards I never dreamed I would be writing about modeling myself after Lindsey Graham because at the time I didn’t know who he was and hadn’t cared much to watch C-SPAN. I began watching C-SPAN during the campaign hoping to see John Edwards give the blockbuster speech on the Senate floor that would set me swooning. However, this never happened because John Edwards was out campaigning.

Discovery of Sen. Graham
One day while listening to the Senate proceedings I heard a refreshingly eager voice. He was talking about trade and jobs. It was enough to make me wonder about the speaker. I turned around and watched as the gentleman spoke and I saw that it was Lindsey Graham. I had just returned from campaigning in Milwaukee at this time. I couldn’t believe that in the middle of a campaign I was getting interested in someone else; on the other side no less. Sen. Graham had captured my attention and I did research to find out more about his life, career, and positions. The more I looked into it the more I admired him and decided that he was the person upon which I wanted to model myself.

Disagreement, Defense, and Support
I disagree with him sometimes and other times I wonder what he is thinking, but this never makes me question his status as my role model.

We tend to question those items we disagree with more than that with which we agree. However, I chose to adopt his idea of compromising and finding a middle ground in order to get something done. The largest example of this is the judicial compromise, which he took flak for, but I found it easy to defend.

I know I have moved slightly left (populist-leaning conservative to populist conservative) over the last two years and appearantly Sen. Graham has also, at least on immigration. He has a populist streak that causes his independent, some would say maverick, actions. I share this streak and the desire to help people. I share the willingness to challenge orthodoxy when necessary, like in supporting a payroll tax cap increase to pay for the transition cost of the Social Security reform.

I do not agree with his support of the Marriage Protection Amendment for Constitutional reasons, but I honor his wish to support it. I will also defend his vote for the nuclear option should it become necessary. I hope this option never returns to the debate and never sees the light of day again.

Conclusion
I choose to model myself after Sen. Graham because of his willingness to compromise and stand for principles, as well as his life being a model of the American Dream.

• Response to Lindsey Graham is Starting to Really Disappoint Me, by Mike Reino at SC6

Lindsey Graham Doesn’t Disappoint Me

Response to Mike Reino at SC6.

I started out volunteering for the Presidential campaign of John Edwards two years ago. I went to Iowa and Milwaukee as a volunteer. I cam home from one of these trips and I was watching the Senate on C-SPAN 2 when I happened across a specch by Lindsey Graham, who was the Jr senator from South Carolina at th time. The speech was about trade. I remembering who would dare present the unorthodox position that he did.

I have followed his Senate career for the last two years and have defended him every chance I get becasue I do plan to pattern myself after him. I like his style of hammering out compromises and tackling current and controversial issues head on without fear.

Inspite of the high praise I do sometimes wonder what he is thinkig, but it is just a disagreement to me and not a dispointment. There is much wrong with the Senate version of the immigration bill, however, I think his heart is in the right place. There is another problem with this issue besides the agency not being able to handle the influx and that is the executive department’s lax enforcement. Sen. Graham is only trying to assist in fixing a problem that the President could have fixed quickly with an executive order that demanded stepped up enforcement of existing law. The solution is not perfect, but that is why we have a conference committee.

I understand the perils of the immigration issues becasue I live in Chicago and have a difficult time finding employment because I don’t speak Spanish. I also understanfd that until we enforce the fines on employers for hiring illegals than we will have the problem.

I do think that Lindsey is caught up in the spirit of comproise as he tends to be because he wants the Senate to work together. It is unfortunate that John McCain and the rest you name are so derided. I do not think that Lindsey should be beat based on the Groupof 14 becasue we still got our judges. Did we really want to destry to Senate and change forever the way it works? I don’t. I like judicial compromise because it has given good judges positions. Some still won’t make it, but that is the process.

I do not think that the second is as plausible as the first. Lindsey made some of the most passionate and compassionate speeches I saw from anyone on this issue. I am sure he recieved som contributions from business interests, but so did all the senators. This is not as much the problem as his bleeding heart may be on the issue.

I am and always will be more like Lindsey Graham than Jim DeMint. I am still not a Fair Tax supporter and will remain a compromiser for the overall good.

Sen. Graham’s Wit, Wisdom, and Leadership

Sen. Graham is one of our sharpest sneators. He seems the best interests of South Carolina and the country in mind with every action. I am specifically proud of the action he in being a part of the Group of 14. He also has a wonderful sense of humor and is thoughtful.

He stands up to the administration when his conscience tells him he must, like on the issue of torture. He has been honest with the country about Iraq and the chance we have of succeeding there. He asks tough and penetrating questions of officials in committee hearings.

The first stance he took that I liked was on trade. He went against the grain of the party and voted “no” on CAFTA. He made his ‘South Carolina pockets’ speech and said “If we are not here to fight for American jobs then I do not know what we are here for.” I appreciate him standing up for American jobs.

I know he will be a leader. Sen. McCain thinks he looks like an attractive vice presidential candidate. I tend to agree, but wish him to stay in the Senate, where he could do more good for the country at this particular time.

Proud to Have Sen. Graham Serving in Washington

When Sen. Graham was mentioned as a potential nominee for the Supreme Court I was proud as a Gilbert Peach. However, the pride soon faded into a realism that we would lose a great Senator to the nomination. Sure, the seat would have been filled by a capable individual but it just would not be the same because no one is like Sen. Graham, who is one in a million. He would make a good Justice, but he makes an even better Senator and enjoys the hand to hand combat of politics. He also likes finding solutions to America’s problems.

While proud that he may have received the nomination I am even more proud that he is a United States Senator. This pride comes from having watched him and understanding who this remarkable man is as an American. He loves his job as a Senator because as he said “I’m a kid in a candy store. You can play at every area of the government that intrigues you. They can’t deal you out of the game. And I’m loving my job,” he said to the Charlotte Observer in June 2005. I love this attitude, it absolutely shines. I wish there were more like him because than Washington would be a more pleasant place.

I enjoy watching him as a Senator because he does an outstanding job, especially when he gets to question the leadership in committee hearings. Want to see Secretary Rumsfeld sweat? Ok. Watch Sen. Graham question him during a hearing of the Armed Services Committee hearing. The questions are to the point and require a thoughtful, non-rosy answer.

He also tries to protect the American worker. This was the purpose of the Schumer-Graham legislation that would have placed tariffs on Chinese imports in order to force China to revalue its currency.

I also appreciate his independence and willingness to take heat for his decisions. An example of this was when he supported a compromise rather than voting to change the senate rules to force through President Bush’s judicial nominees. He took major heat but is weathering the storm well. He says of his detractors, “For some people in politics it’s not enough to agree with them on the issue, you have to hate the people they hate. “I’m not going to be a hater. I’m going to be a solid conservative and a reformer.” I am also glad that he is not apologizing for this because I admire his independence. We need more like him because then work might get done by ignoring the special interest groups.

I also think his tolerance is a wonderful thing because unlike some colleagues he realizes the importance of our diversity: “People should be judged on their conduct and not their status. The better able we are to disagree with each other and to accept our differences, the stronger we will be as a nation.” Sen. Graham is remarkable in my opinion. He enjoys his job, is tolerant and has a wonderful independent streak. I wish others would appreciate these characteristics as much as I do because I believe that Sen. Graham is someone we should be proud to have as a Senator.

Paying for a Disaster: Take no Option off the Table

Source: Taxpayers for Common Sense

The current debate within the Republican party is how to pay for Hurricane Katrina. Three options are spending cuts, tax increases and borrowing.

Spending cuts, especially of pork barrel projects like the bridge to nowhere in Alaska, are an appealing option. However, House Majority leader Tom DeLay (TX-22) claims that federal spending has been cut to the bone. On the other hand Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) says there should be cuts in outlays across the board. The House Republican Study Committee has also released a list of spending cuts with the the beginning of “Operation Offset.”

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) said, “This really is the time for the president to use the bully pulpit to ask the American people to sacrifice, and to ask the leaders of the Congress to set (budget) priorities in a different way than we are setting them now so that we don’t pass this debt on to future generations.” Sen. Graham suggested that there were many ways to cut the spending in order to offset the cost of Katrina. The Taxpayers for Common Sense suggest several cuts that congress could make in the budget to offset Katrina’s budget.
Some suggest using a temporary sales tax to offset the cost of hurrican relief. Graham says that everything from spending to taxes should be considered in determinig how to pay for the disaster. I think this is correct, however, I beleive that taxes, and even more so, borrowing which would explode the debt further should be last resorts after all prok-barrel projects are cut from the budget. This is especially true for the transportation and energy legisation passed this summer.