Caffeinated Politics

The news of Senator Lindsey Graham’s shocking death arrived very early Sunday morning as James and I were still up after a nice evening with a close friend. It was a jarring flash of a news alert that landed with absolute surprise. I recall rereading the initial bulletins after the networks were pushing them out to make sure it wasn’t one of those grotesque social‑media hoaxes. The speed of it all made the moment feel unreal, as this was an event that rearranged the political landscape.

I have often written about the South Carolina Senator on Caffeinated Politics (20 years in operation on July 14th), with posts that lauded some of his foreign policy stands and those that lambasted him for foolishness in domestic partisan politics. The reason he was so interesting and important to our politics is that his range of actions earned him both applause and our utter dismay.

I wrote in February 2016 the best line from Lindsay Graham about Ted Cruz, underscoring his keen sense of humor, which he often displayed. “If you kill Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, nobody could convict you.”

In 2013, I wrote what remained true to the end about the role the senator played as an educator of sorts to the country.

I am mindful that there are people who wonder why Senator Graham gets so much face time on the Sunday morning talk shows. Why give the Republican from South Carolina such a forum so often? I am not always in agreement with the senator, and that might be way too subtle a point to make, but I find him to be, over and over, a useful guide for gaining insight into the topic under discussion.

On December 21, 2015, I wrote the following as he suspended his presidential campaign.

Today, Lindsey Graham suspended his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.  Over time, I have posted about the senator, and, as noted, I find him smart and impressive.  That does not mean I agree with his conservative ideas or his fondness for everything that Israel does or tries to do in the Middle East.  But when it comes to a powerful intellect, I want more people like Graham in the U.S. Senate.

Last week, he made a statement at the Republican debate that I very much appreciated. Graham had the spine and moral DNA to offer an apology to the Muslim world for the outrages of Donald Trump.  He stated in an emotional way that the words and actions of Trump don’t reflect America’s attitude toward Islam.

“Donald Trump has done the one single thing you cannot do — declare war on Islam itself”.   How true that is.

Therefore, his words at the debate were simply refreshing and deeply appreciated by a world that seeks answers rather than mindless bombast. “To all of our Muslim friends throughout the world, like the King of Jordan and the President of Egypt, I am sorry. He does not represent us.”

In October 2009, I wrote about the needs of the Republican Party.

I have often spoken appreciatively of Republican Senators Dick Lugar, Orrin Hatch, and Lindsey Graham. Having said that, it is also true that they each have had strong rebukes from me along the way of their political careers. Overall, however, I think each of them is very smart and the type of Republican who will be required to lead their party if it is to ascend again nationally. With Lugar, we have a master in foreign affairs, Hatch understands the judiciary, and Graham is highly conversant in constitutional law. While they are each conservatives, they are the type of conservatives who think in wider arcs and understand that Washington operates in realpolitik. While I disagree with them on some political and philosophical matters, I would argue that each of these three is a gentleman. They act with political maturity, unlike some of the young Turks who eat red meat and think they have made history.

But on April 5, 2022, I was angry with Graham’s words and tone regarding the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.

This week, he stated Republicans would not have held hearings on Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court if they held a majority in the Senate.

“If we get back the Senate, and we’re in charge of this body, and there’s judicial openings, we will talk to our colleagues on the other side,” Graham said at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing for Jackson’s nomination. “But if we were in charge, she would not have been before this committee.”

Such is our politics in 2022. As a decades-long politico, I am embarrassed about the condition in which we now find ourselves. We can track how we arrived at this place, and while there are plenty of specifics that can be assigned to each party, that does not change the fact that Graham’s above statement was reprehensible.

By the end of this week, the Senate could very well confirm the first Black woman to the Supreme Court. That is a significant stride for a nation that long had only white men holding those seats. Rather than honoring that moment or recognizing that a president has the right to his appointments, barring egregious or illegal behavior on the part of the nominee, we are instead witnessing a very low moment in our politics.

(For the record, I have still not figured out what took place upon the death of Senator John McCain, a long-time friend of the South Carolina Senator, which unleashed a continual series of outrageous comments and behavior.)

Finally, I would not be honest with my readers if I did not address an issue that I hoped the senator could have resolved years ago. In 2015, Graham said he was not “defective” because he was single. True enough. He also stirred up some headlines when he said he could have a “rotating first lady” to fill the spot if he became president. Having thought Graham to be gay, I often wrote that I wished he could live authentically as a gay man.

In 2014, I wrote after the fall’s re-election race that I hoped Graham might take the next step. But for everyone involved, including his own happiness and mental peace of mind, let us hope he can come out as gay and live openly and thereby better serve the nation.

Living authentically is something I think is important for everyone, but perhaps even more so for those elected to represent the rest of us.