It was going a little far to say that he can’t drive to the Heritage Foundation dinner without his tires getting slashed because the foundation talks about all issues and doesn’t weigh one above another. We may dream of a Senate that is chalk full of conservatives, but this will never happen. It is time to accept reality and not try to ignore minority concerns because we are a majority.
It seems like some in the movement have lost sight of what brought us to power and are not respecting the differences among members of our party. This respect for differences of opinion is what make Sen. Graham a shining lite and someone to respect and build around. This acceptance of differences and working with them is part of his outlook. If those in the movement don’t learn to respect our shining lights then we will lose power quicker than we gained it.
Independent Critic of Party
He “stands up to conservatives” and the administration when it is necessary. He was absolutely correct to say that for some it is about their 15 minutes of fame. His admonishment to “shut up” was so that we could learn more about the nominee. The Roberts nomination raised no eyebrows because there was a paper trail and with Miers there is not. Sen. Graham is not oblivious to history and he most certainly is not stupid. Everyone knows about Justice David Souter. He would have offered the same advice regarding Souter that he has here because he is consistent.
What is problematic for some is that he did not dress his request in nice language. He does not play this game he says what he means and he neans what he says. He said, “Be quiet for a little bit and listen, just shut up for a few minutes and give the lady a chance to find out who she is.” He meant to be fair that we needed to be quiet so we could learn about the philosophy of the nominee before we decided weather or not she was acceptable.
Compromise of the Common Judicial Good
Some movement conservatives see him as a traitor or quisling because he speaks his mind and is willing to irritate them when he disagrees with his party.
One such disagreement was over the compromise that he helped to write with other members of the bipartisan “Group of 14,” which allowed the confirmation of Judges Owen, Pryor, and Rogers-Brown. Many conservatives wanted to implement the nuclear option and get all the judges confirmed. Their ire was provoked by the deal becasue they felt that some good nominees were thrown under the bus. However, Sen. Graham made the good point that some of the nominees would not have made it anyway and he was going to vote against at least one of them.
Graham did not want to “blow the place up” either. This focus on a knock-down drag-out ideological battle] that would harm the court and the Senate make little sense. The observation that he made during his opening statement at the nomination hearing for Chief Justice John G. Roberts was correct: “Politics is a loud, noisy and destructive place. But the courtroom is a quiet place where the weak can challenge the strong and the unpopular can be heard.” We need some quiet from the people on the right so the Senate can appropriately do its job and vet the nominees.The points smager makes are the ones I made in defense back in May that the Democrats would not have rolled over and played dead, but that the agenda would have suffered more in a nuclear Senate than it does now. They would have slowed committee business as they were already doing in May when the deal was signed.
We would have been less secure in a nuclear Senate because the committees would have been slowed or completely stopped by the Democrats. Committees like Armed Services, Foreign Relations, and Intelligence are important to military and diplomatic efforts around the world. The Armed Services Committee, for example, takes care of the Defense Authorization bill that funds the troops in the field. Nuclearizing the Senate would have seriously impaired the bill’s passage, however, since we did not go nuclear we were able to pass the bill after resolving a dispute about an amendment. This bill being stalled in committee would have seriously impaired the war effort and put our troops in unnecessary danger.
In time the supporters of the “nuclear option” would have been disgusted as well because it would have slowed or stopped the work of the Judiciary Committee which is the first step in the confirmation process. Therefore, all their work and blustering about changing the rules would be for naught. The Democrats could still “blue slip”a nominee in committee, thus rendering the “nuclear option” impotent.
The argument that the Democrats slowing the Senate’s work would have shown the country who they are and that they don’t care is false. This may work for the activists and special interests, but the average voter will look and get equally as upset with the Republicans and blame them for the deadlock state of the Senate. This can only harm the party in the long run for short-term gain. This needs to be about more that this president and his nominees. This president can’t seek reelection and so we should not take an action that will aid him and harm other Republicans. It would have especially harmed those like Sen. Graham who wish to do as they were entrusted to do and work on all of the people’s business.
No Adhominem Attacks, Just Ideas and Arguments
Sen. Graham does not engage in ad hominem attacks. He engages the conservative arguments well and believes in them. It is because of his common-sense conservatism that I came back to the Republican Party. I feel that he is one of the most intelligent senators because he engages an argument with logic and not ad hominem attacks.
The Miers Nomination
Miers will be confirmed unless they decide that she is not qualified. Vetting the president’s nominees is one responsibility of the Senate and is one of the specific tasks of the Judiciary Committee, of which Sen. Graham is a member. He always considers every nominee carefully. If Miers is not qualified Graham will not vote her out of committee.
Bloodhounds and Mudslingers
There will always be those on both sides that that have a lust for blood especially when they can smell it. These bloodhounds need to be held at bay because they will eventually destroy us as a party if they take control. Look what’s happening to the Democratic Party because their bloodhounds have taken control. They are disintegrating and losing power. I fear that we may do this if we do not take a more realistic cause, thus putting the bloodhounds back in their cages. They should sit back and watch Graham engage in realpolitik, they may be surprised. Everyone on both sides seems to genuinely like him, which is useful in getting things done. He presents a brand of leadership that both parties are lacking and that we are not used to seeing represented.
Conclusion
I am proud of Sen. Graham’s role in getting the Senate refocused on the entire agenda and all of our business. The deal allowed the passage of legislation regarding energy, transportation, and tort reform, which would have languished in a nuclear Senate. We do not want to blow up the Senate which would cause great harm because we will never return to civil discourse. We will have destroyed the Senate by politicizing the body. Sen. Graham saved the institution that he respects. I feel that some of my conservative allies and the filibuster Democrats do not respect the Senate in much the same way.
We are better than that. We can get things done in a spirit of bipartisanship and prove we are the true party of the American people. Sen. Graham is a refreshing presence and new start.
Atlanta: 
Citizen Governor 