October 21, 2009 News+Opinion » Jack Hunter

Liberal Lindsey battles conservative Paul for control of the GOP 

Lindsey Graham vs. Ron Paul

by Jack Hunter
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It's hard to imagine a Republican more useless than South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham. Whether he's spearheading legislation that would grant amnesty to millions of illegal aliens, stumping for the $787 billion taxpayer robbery known as TARP, being the lone GOP committee member to confirm liberal Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor, or partnering with John Kerry to promote cap-and-trade, Graham has never been a friend to conservatives.

And yet in 2008, Graham was reelected in the deeply red state of South Carolina over a Democratic candidate, Bob Conley, who staunchly opposed amnesty and TARP and was well to the right of Lindsey in almost every respect. Many dubbed Conley a "Ron Paul Democrat," because of his support for the Texas Congressman during the Republican presidential primary. In that senatorial contest, the conservative "D" lost to the liberal "R" as a simple result of party affiliation. Rest assured, Lindsey Graham would like to keep things this way.

And Ron Paul would not. Comparing the 2008 Paul campaign with every other Republican who ran for president that year is a study in contrasts. Paul remained a Republican out of political necessity, sometimes seemingly regrettably, despite his continuing disappointment with his party's lack of serious commitment to limited-government principles. Every other GOP candidate, from talk-radio favorite Mitt Romney to eventual nominee John McCain, would mouth occasional limited government rhetoric despite their lack of a voting record to match; unlike Paul, these candidates seemed more interested in their ascendancy in the Republican Party and the power it affords.

Not surprisingly, when confronted by a crowd of tea partiers, town hall protesters, and other angry grassroots conservatives at a meeting in Greenville last week, Graham reacted to criticism leveled against him by attacking one man — Paul: "We're not going to be the Ron Paul party ... I love this party ... I'm not going to let it be hijacked by Ron Paul ... Ron Paul's run for president like 39 times. He keeps losing."

Graham is right. The limited government philosophy that Paul believes once was the guiding principle of the Republican Party, and could be again, keeps losing. Despite the Founding Fathers' best intentions, the Constitution that has remained the only guideline for every vote Paul has cast during his decades-long career in Congress has been badly damaged by politicians from both parties. To "hijack" the Republican Party, Paul would have to inspire a genuine revolution, not only in the way our government conducts its business but in what Americans think about how much business their government should be conducting. For Paul, the battle has never been about Republican vs. Democrat but limited government vs. unlimited government. There's never been any question about which side Paul stands on.

On the other side, you'll find Graham. As the quintessential GOP establishment man, the big-government Republicanism that defined the Bush era had no greater champion than Graham. Conservatives who now trash Lindsey for siding with the Democrats have short memories, as it was Bush who first promoted amnesty, supported TARP, and grew our government and debt to record levels. At every turn, Graham was Bush's boy. Today, Graham's GOP remains wedded to recycling Bush-era, big government policy, always stamped with an elephant insignia and always designed to fool rank-and-file conservatives into voting against their better interests.

But now, too many are tired of being played for fools. The angry crowd that confronted Graham at a town hall meeting in Greenville last week were but the most vocal representatives of an ever-growing group of Americans who are fed up with both the excesses of Bush and the even worse excesses of Obama. For the first time in a long time, many Americans are looking back to the Founding Fathers, holding up their Constitution, and seriously reexamining the role of government in their lives. This is fertile ground for an admitted "revolutionary" like Ron Paul. This is dangerous ground for protectors of the status quo like Lindsey Graham. South Carolina's senior senator may be able to say defiantly, "We're not going to be the Ron Paul party," but he won't be able to do so definitely.

And neither can Paul. While any future Republican Party worth having must indeed, finally be hijacked by the principles of limited, constitutional government, big government Republicans like Graham would like nothing more than a safe return to the good old Bush days when constituents would just keep their mouths shut, wallets open, and their votes a-comin.'

If this happens — and there's a good chance it might — conservatives, constitutionalists, and patriots of all stripes interested in genuine political revolution must finally go to whichever party, old or new, that best suits their interests. And Lindsey Graham and his retread Republican Party can go to hell.

Catch Southern Avenger commentaries every Tuesday and Friday at 7:50 a.m. on the "Morning Buzz with Richard Todd" on 1250 AM WTMA.

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Great commentary, Jack!

Your final statement sums it up well.

It took me a long time but finally I feel comfortable letting go of the Republican-Fascist Party and risk its destruction in order to facilitate the rise of a third/fourth/fifth--as many as we can get--party.

The Republican-Fascists going the way of the Whigs before them could potentially expose the country to a dominant Democrat-Fascist government for a while but I doubt they can muster over 40-42% of Congress on average. After a while, they'll probably even be losing members if more libertarian alternatives are offered.

Eventually there would have to be coalitions and such formed to pass anything and fewer laws, hopefully, passed in the end. I'd rather have three or more parties fighting it out since, the more competing political philosophies there are, the more likely there will no longer be cooperation in ignoring the Supreme Law of the Land as currently occurs.

The chaos of more parties in govt. will eventually force members of Congress, as a last resort, I'm sure, to point at what the Constitution actually says. I'd rather they fight over that vs. blithely going along their way and quibbling over minor points on the road to hell as the two major parties continue to increase the number of fascist policies and practices.

Posted by Tommy C on October 22, 2009 at 9:23 AM | Report this comment

At what point do Americans see the evidence staring them in the face?
Is it a coincidence we're the only superpower left? Are Americans some divine race that makes us far superiour in economic means?
In a word, NO.
It's our constitution and limited form of government. Why can't you see that, Carolina?
Conservatives don't want to go backwards. They want to preserve and promote the standards that got us where we are.

Posted by Twelvetime on October 22, 2009 at 8:56 AM | Report this comment

"If we go back to the 18th century do we have to turn in our HD TV's and Ipods?"

And he asks that, like it would be something bad...

Posted by AikentoLA on October 22, 2009 at 12:37 AM | Report this comment

As a Democrat, I found Conley's platform to be an absolute insult. He was clearly running as a Democrat only to get on the ballot, since he failed to espouse a single progressive belief. I actually voted for Graham as the lesser of two evils. If he's got the Avenger's knickers in a twist and keeping the Republican party in disarray, I guess I chose well.

Posted by intothewoods22 on October 21, 2009 at 2:29 PM | Report this comment

what a great article! and i can honestly say i didnt vote for the RINO lindsey.. I was pushing for Connely but Republicans i know wouldnt even take a look at his stands, they just wouldn't vote for him because he had a "D" in front of his name instead of an "R"..

Posted by legalise on October 21, 2009 at 10:03 AM | Report this comment

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