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South Carolina Poll Watch: Sen. Lindsey Graham in GOP Primary Trouble With Tea Party
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham
Without a doubt, this RINO should be in trouble.Yesterday we put out a poll on Lindsey Graham’s standing with the entire South Carolina electorate. Today we narrow it down to those describing themselves as regular Republican primary voters.
52% of them say that given the choice they’d pick a more conservative challenger in the 2014 GOP primary, compared to only 37% who say they’d support Graham under that scenario. It’s a pretty simple calculus- Graham leads 47-40 on that question with Republicans who say they don’t consider themselves to be members of the Tea Party but he trails 76-18 with folks who identify with that movement. The Tea Party faction of the Republican Party has become more and more powerful since Graham dispatched a relatively weak primary challenger in 2008 and if the fever doesn’t die down over the next three years he’s going to be in serious trouble in a primary.
Senator Graham will face a more conservative Tea Party GOP primary challenger in 2014.
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Sen. Lindsey Grahamnesty Tries His Hand Again at Immigration Reform
South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham
You would have thought that Senator Graham would have learned from the last time he tried for some illegal immigration amnesty.
Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) have rekindled their alliance on immigration reform, taking some early steps to test the political will for addressing the contentious issue this year.
Their call list hasn’t focused so much on House and Senate members who’ve been reliable pro-immigration votes in the past. Instead, they’re looking to a strange-bedfellows mix of conservative and liberal constituencies that can provide a “safety net” of support, as Graham put it, once the issue heats up.
“It’s in the infant stage,” Graham told POLITICO. “I don’t know what the political appetite is to do something.”
For all the groups getting a call from the pair, it is the presence of Graham himself who elevates the odds — however bleak — that the Senate could move on a comprehensive, bipartisan overhaul bill. Graham abruptly departed the talks last spring and took with him any hope of getting a bill in the past Congress.
Now, conservative evangelicals, the AFL-CIO, the Service Employees International Union, business organizations and immigrant advocacy groups say they have gotten word from Schumer’s office that a renewed effort is under way. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce confirmed that it is back in the mix, after a hasty exit last year when Schumer proposed a legislative framework with a temporary worker program that favored labor unions.
And Schumer and his staff have quietly begun reaching out to some unlikely players in the Senate, including Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who has professed a newfound freedom since winning reelection last year without the Republican Party’s help.
I agree with Stacy that this is probably just a shakedown for campaign cash from the open borders crowd and U.S. Chamber of Commerce. But, like Michelle, do not trust Graham. The only saving grace is the House GOP.
Hey! Senator Graham – how about enforcing the immigration laws and securing the borders first?
Can someone PLEASE run against Grahamnesty in a South Carolina GOP primary.
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John McCain’s Political Rehabilitation Through Barack Obama?
Senator John McCain and President-elect Barack Obama
Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum sounds the warning bells about John “MAVERICK” McCain and what the Senator might WILL do to politically rehabilitate himself before the MSM.McCain was once the mainstream media darling, back when he joined Democrats on a host of issues. He prized his maverick moniker and used it to propel himself onto the national scene in the 2000 Republican presidential primary. Early in the Bush years, he shored up his status as the media’s favorite Republican by opposing Bush on taxes and the environment.
But this love fest came to a halt when McCain became the front-runner for the GOP nomination. First he began to sound more like a conservative by altering his stands on immigration, the environment and taxes. Then he named Sarah Palin his running mate. It was too much for a media that had fallen head over heels for Obama. The media had a new darling.
In McCain’s mind, however, losing the presidency will not be the final chapter of his life story. He knows the path to “Big Media” redemption. Working with the man who vanquished him in November will show them all the real McCain again.
Remember, it was this onetime prisoner of war who led the charge to open diplomatic relations with Vietnam. If that past is prologue, and McCain’s legislative record is any guide, he will not just join with Obama but lead the charge in Congress on global warming, immigration “reform,” the closing of Guantanamo, federal funding for embryonic-stem-cell research, and importation of prescription drugs.
But McCain won’t stop there in his effort to rehabilitate himself in the media’s – or maybe his own – eyes. He will forge common ground on a long list of initiatives that go far beyond where he has gone before, including the stimulus package.
Alas, the two White House rivals now stand positioned to help secure each other’s place in history. The next mainstream media blockbuster could be Barack Obama and John McCain: The Movie.
John McCain will have to tread very softly since he is OLD and up for re-election in 2010. A health problem or a conservative issue faux paus could lead to a divisive Republican primary challenge in Arizona. A challenge McCain could lose.
Now, will that deter the maverick from making nice with the Democrats and President Obama and capitulating on key policy issues that differentiate the parties?
Perhaps. But, beyond this alarm is an event that occurred yesterday. Senator Lindsey Graham (McCain Maverick Lite) was cozing up to Obama and Joe Biden.
To look at President-elect Barack Obama and Sen. Lindsey Graham sitting side by side Wednesday and to hear them passing out praise, you wouldn’t know that scarcely 10 weeks ago they were at political war.
Graham, a South Carolina Republican, is a close friend of Sen. John McCain and crisscrossed the country with him during his losing presidential bid.
“I think this is a good way to get started,” Graham said as he sat with Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden before a throng of journalists at the Obama transition headquarters in Washington . “The campaign is over. I’m disappointed in the outcome, but like every American I’m excited about what awaits our country in the future.
During a 45-minute private meeting, Biden and Graham briefed Obama on their just-completed five-day trip to Afghanistan , Iraq , Pakistan and Kuwait .
The three men then met reporters against a backdrop of five American flags.
Graham told Obama that the foreign leaders they’d met are extremely enthusiastic about his inauguration on Tuesday.
“There’s a moment in time for this country to re-engage the international community, and to make sure that we have international support to stabilize Afghanistan , Pakistan and Iraq ,” Graham said.
“(Obama’s) popularity and the respect he has earned throughout the world give America a chance to re-engage not only in the region, but in a way that in the long run makes his job easier and takes the pressure off our troops,” he said.
Graham turned to Obama and added:
“That’s a compliment to you and the way you have campaigned, and the goodwill you have generated.”
McCain and Graham will be watched over the next few months. If they surrender the GOP’s ideals, the fur will fly and Flap knows who will be the chief furrier – Sarah Palin.
Stay tuned……
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