Senator Specter: Please Take John McCain and His Daughters, Meghan and Lindsey, with You!

Ex-Graham Aide Fined for Theft

From The Hill
By Reid Wilson

A former political aide to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) will pay a civil penalty after embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from Graham's Senate campaign, the Federal Election Commission announced Monday.

Mary Jennifer Adams, who was arrested in December 2007 for embezzling $280,000 from Graham's re-election campaign, will pay $2,500 to the FEC. She has also agreed not to work on a federal campaign in any capacity related to the campaign's finances.

Read the rest of this entry >>

Graham and McCain Vote to Confirm Child Porn Lawyer as Deputy Attorney General

From LifeSiteNews
By Kathleen Gilbert

The U.S. Senate yesterday confirmed David Ogden as the next deputy attorney general, ignoring a flood of protest against Ogden's extensive record in defending pornography. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) joined the senators in voting in favor of Ogden, despite having been chief sponsor of the Children's Internet Protection Act, an act designed to keep porn off public library computers that Ogden opposed.

In 2003, Ogden wrote a brief on behalf of fifteen library directors objecting to the Protection Act, claiming that, "By demanding that libraries be censors and devote resources - not to facilitating - but to interfering with patrons' pursuit of information and ideas, Congress has subverted the role of librarians and public libraries and violated the First Amendment rights of library patrons."

The vote was split down party lines, except for eleven Republicans who voted in favor: Senators Alexander (TN), Bond (MO), Collins (ME), Graham (SC), Gregg (NH), Kyl (AZ), Lugar (IN), McCain (AZ), Snowe (ME), Specter (PA), and Voinovich (OH). One Democrat, Sen. Casey of Pennsylvania, voted against the nomination. Ogden was sworn in today by Attorney General Eric Holder Jr.

Pro-family voices issued a volley of opposition to prevent the confirmation after Ogden was nominated by President Obama earlier this year. Ogden's record, they pointed out, shows a steady predilection for defending the pornography industry. He has represented clients including Playboy, Penthouse, ACLU, and the Consenting Adults Telephone Rights Association in numerous cases.

In his private practice, the 55-year-old lawyer has also established himself as completely opposed to legal protections both for the unborn and for traditional marriage.

"David Ogden is a hired gun from Playboy and ACLU. He can't run from his long record of opposing common sense laws protecting families, women, and children," said Brian Burch, President of Fidelis, a pro-family watchdog group that assembled a dossier on Ogden's porn background.

The Senate Judiciary Committee's top Republican, Sen. Arlen Specter, reportedly told National Public Radio that he had never seen so much opposition from voters against a nominee. According to Specter 11,000 phone calls, letters and other contacts poured in to the committee by the beginning of March protesting the Ogden pick.

Ogden insisted to the Judiciary Committee at his confirmation hearing last month that "child pornography is abhorrent," and otherwise downplayed his extreme record. Burch described Ogden's words as "a textbook example of an ambitious nominee saying whatever he needs to say to get the votes for confirmation."

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, dismissed pro-family advocates' alarm over Ogden as "a scurrilous attack on him."

However, according to Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., Ogden "is more than just a lawyer who has had a few unsavory clients. He has devoted a substantial part of his career, case after case, for 20 years, in defense of pornography."

Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., said he was "alarmed that President Obama has nominated a candidate to serve in the No. 2 post at the Department of Justice who has repeatedly represented the pornography industry and its interests," calling Ogden's record "shocking."

No One Trusts John McCain's Shoe Shine Boy

It would seem from the comments reported in the following column that Lindsey Graham's Democrat colleagues don't know him very well. They are suspicious that he might harbor some ulterior motives in advocating nationalization of the banks and socialism for the American economy. We wish he had some conservative instincts and loyalty to Republican principles, hidden or otherwise. Haven't they noticed that he's John McCain's shoe shine boy?

What is Lindsey Graham Up To?

From The New Republic
By Noam Scheiber

You may recall that Lindsey Graham has been strongly intimating we should nationalize our banks. Not only that, but he says several other Republican senators are open to it.

So why won't Democrats, many of whom feel the same way, at least discuss it with him? Obviously one issue is the enormous complexity, which everyone would like to avoid. But the bigger hold-up is that Democrats just don't trust Graham. The same senior Senate aide I spoke with yesterday told me, "I think they’re betting on failure. I don’t know what his angle is. I’m hesitant to give him credit given my severe loathing for the guy."

Then today, another senior Democratic source elaborated, suggesting Democrats think Graham's nationalization comments are designed to talk down the banks' stock, making it impossible (as opposed to just extremely difficult) to attract private capital and making nationalization more likely. That is, the fear is that Graham wants to force the Democrats' hands. “These people say ‘free markets,’ ‘leave everything alone,’ ‘let them fail,’” says the source. “Now all of a sudden they’re saying ‘nationalize the banks?'” The cynicism is just incredible.”

For what it's worth, I'm personally torn. There are plenty of reasons to be suspicious of Graham and the Republican caucus. But he did sound genuinely exercised about the situation when he spoke to the Financial Times last week. (Graham’s office didn't return a call seeking comment.) And even Democratic senators like Chris Dodd and Chuck Schumer have inadvertently talked the markets down with comments about nationalization.

More from South Carolina's Government Nationalizer

Lindsey wants the nation's banks to be run from government offices in Charlotte, North Carolina. In this interview with the Charlotte Observer he explains his big plans for government takeovers.

We've Been Unfair to New York and Massachusetts

In our utter contempt for South Carolina's pusillanimous senior Senator, Sunlit Uplands has frequently accused Lindsey Graham of being the third Senator from Massachusetts or New York. We owe those states an apology. As the following video makes clear, New York's liberal senior Senator, Charles Schumer, has expressed opinions about the nationalization of banks that accord with conservative, South Carolina views, while our own Marxist Obamabot has given it a limp-wristed thumbs up.

Senator Bend Over, Grab the Ankles Needs to be Recalled

Eric Holder has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate for the position of Attorney General by a vote of 75 to 21.

He is the most radical and dangerous man ever to occupy that position, and if you liked Janet Reno, you will love Eric Holder.

Thankfully, 21 Republican Senators voted against this seriously flawed nomination. They are:

Barrasso, Brownback, Bunning, Burr, Coburn, Cochran, Cornyn, Crapo, DeMint, Ensign, Enzi, Hutchison, Ihofe, Johanns, McConnell, Risch, Roberts, Shelby, Thune, Vitter, Wicker

But no, not Lindsey Graham, Senator Bend Over, Grab the Ankles. Let's face it, it's a position that Lindsey enjoys. We should expect to see a lot more of this from the one that The American Spectator dubbed "the worst Republican Senator ever." He seems to have a perverse need to betray his own and sellout to those he should oppose. But whatever this RINO's psychololgical problems may be, do we need to let this man betray the overwhelming conservative values of South Carolina, damage our country, undermine the Republican caucus, and cancel out Senator DeMint's solid conservative voting record for the next 6 years? Is anyone else ready to join in a recall movement?

Lindsey to the Rescue Again, Supports Holder Nomination

From The Hill
By Alexander Bolton

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted Wednesday to advance the nomination of Eric Holder to become President Obama’s attorney general.

Six Republicans voted with Democrats in favor of Holder, assuring him of confirmation by the full Senate. Holder would become the first African-American to serve as attorney general.

Holder made headlines and won applause from Democrats when he declared the practice of waterboarding akin to torture and illegal. The stance drew Republican opposition, however, notably from National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn (Texas).

Cornyn and Sen. Tom Coburn (Okla.) were the only two Republicans to vote against Holder.

Holder also became embroiled in controversy because of his role in former President Clinton’s decision to pardon fugitive financier Marc Rich and members of a militant Puerto Rican separatist group. The nominee was deputy attorney general in the Clinton administration at the time.

Holder said he regretted his role in approving the Rich pardon but defended the decision on the Puerto Rican nationalists, which he called “reasonable” despite strong GOP criticism highlighting their links to domestic terrorist attacks in the '70s.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (Utah), the second-ranking Republican on Judiciary and a former chairman of the panel, was the first Republican to voice support for Holder, giving him a major boost.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) was the next Republican on Judiciary to line up behind Holder, telling reporters on the day of Holder’s confirmation hearing that he would support the nominee.

Graham said he appreciated Holder’s recognition that the nation is at war and that suspected terrorists should be treated as enemy combatants.

On Tuesday, Holder received the support of Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.), the ranking Republican on Judiciary, who clashed with Holder at his confirmation hearing. Specter questioned Holder’s ability to maintain his independence in the Obama administration.

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), who had expressed serious reservations about Holder before his hearing, also voted for Holder.

“I think he’s indicated that he understands that error,” Sessions said of the Rich pardon.

Cornyn, one of the few Republicans to vote against Holder, said he was “left with doubts about his judgment and independence,” citing the Rich pardon. Cornyn said he suspected Holder approved the pardon to give Clinton “the answer he wanted.”

Cornyn also questioned Holder’s ability to lead the Justice Department while national security officials are pursuing international terrorists. Bush administration officials argued that waterboarding and other enhanced interrogation techniques were necessary to obtain intelligence.

Leahy said Holder could receive a vote before the full Senate as early as Thursday.

Lindsey Graham Supports Tax Cheat for Treasury Secretary

Get used to it South Carolina; Lindsey Graham (RINO-Seneca) just can't say no to big black men.

He just voted to confirm an admitted tax cheat to serve as the nation's chief financial officer and oversee the printing of money and the collection of taxes. On the big issues where Senator DeMint will be voting as a principled, South Carolina conservative, Lindsey Graham will be canceling out that vote and voting with the Senators from Massachusetts. Even liberals like Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) voted against Timothy Geithner. Not Graham! He was with Obama and the socialist agenda.

Here at Sunlit Uplands we urged you to dump the quisling and nominate Buddy Whitherspoon. We then had the chance to elect a Democrat, Bob Conley, who is as conservative as Senator DeMint and would be voting with him in representing South Carolina views. Instead, you sent this not-so-closeted liberal back to be a critical vote as Barack Obama imposes the most destructive agenda America has ever seen.

At what point will you demand that he stop? Will there be any issue on which he will go too far? What will it take for you to support a recall? We were criticized for referring to this embarrassment as Massachusetts' third Senator. How many times will he vote with Ted Kennedy before you feel betrayed and realize he does not represent you?

Obama Selects New White House Pets

The decision has been made and the new White House pets are a trio of poodles that are submissive and eager to please their new master. The New York Times has the story.

Obama Reaches Out for McCain’s Counsel

By David D. Kirkpatrick

Not long after Senator John McCain returned last month from an official trip to Iraq and Pakistan, he received a phone call from President-elect Barack Obama.

As contenders for the presidency, the two had hammered each other for much of 2008 over their conflicting approaches to foreign policy, especially in Iraq. (He’d lose a war! He’d stay a hundred years!) Now, however, Mr. Obama said he wanted Mr. McCain’s advice, people in each camp briefed on the conversation said. What did he see on the trip? What did he learn?

It was just one step in a post-election courtship that historians say has few modern parallels, beginning with a private meeting in Mr. Obama’s transition office in Chicago just two weeks after the vote. On Monday night, Mr. McCain will be the guest of honor at a black-tie dinner celebrating Mr. Obama’s inauguration.

Over the last three months, Mr. Obama has quietly consulted Mr. McCain about many of the new administration’s potential nominees to top national security jobs and about other issues — in one case relaying back a contender’s answers to questions Mr. McCain had suggested.

Mr. McCain, meanwhile, has told colleagues “that many of these appointments he would have made himself,” said Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and a close McCain friend.

Read the rest of this entry >>

Obama's Big Plans for Lindsey Graham

Reed Galen, a California political strategist and Deputy Campaign Manager for John McCain until July 2007, has catalogued Obama's deft and extraordinary courting of John McCain.

Why, he asks, "would the President-Elect go to all the trouble of giving so much consideration to an opponent whom he soundly defeated?" It's not surprising that the sellout from Seneca plays a role.

Galen explains:

Obama understands that having John McCain as an ally in the United States Senate is a major boon to his policy initiatives. As the recent standard-bearer for the GOP, McCain will be enormously helpful; any Republican imprimatur on Obama legislation could help clear stubborn obstacles. The prospect of having a troika of votes in the Senate (McCain, Lieberman and Lindsay Graham) may have also played into the strategy; pushing a bill from 58 or 59 to the magic level of 60 votes is invaluable as the Democrats stand on the cusp of their magic number.

I wonder if those Republicans in South Carolina who voted for Lindsey Graham last year recognized how crucial a role he would play in the socialist plans of the new administration. Congratulations to you all. While Obama appears not to have been able to find anyone from the South to staff the cabinet and sub-cabinet positions he has filled, there is at least one useful idiot on whom he is depending.

Senator Graham's Words Come Back To Haunt Him: Conley Endorsed by ALIPAC

Americans for Legal Immigration PAC, one of the leading national grassroots organizations fighting against Amnesty and for more immigration enforcement, has endorsed South Carolina's Bob Conley for US Senate and intends to launch TV and Radio commercials that highlight Senator Lindsey Graham's offensive comments made in a speech to the National Council of La Raza (NCLR).

"Lindsey Graham has been the Republican with the worst stance on immigration issues in the US Senate," said William Gheen. "Any American who is concerned about illegal immigration should vote against Graham and be offended by his comments. Our TV and radio commercials will allow South Carolinians to hear the speech Graham would rather conceal from them."

In March of 2007, Senator Lindsey Graham made a speech before the National Council of 'La Raza' (English Translation: The Race), where he was receiving an award for his support for Comprehensive Immigration Reform AMNESTY for illegal aliens. In his speech, he called Americans who opposed his legislation "Bigots" and announced that American citizens had no right to govern immigration laws as mandated to their elected representatives in Congress by the US Constitution. Lindsey Graham also praises his leader on immigration issues... Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA).

The TV and radio ads ALIPAC intends to launch next week will contain the following quotes from Senator Graham, while encouraging voters to visit www.alipac.us to review the entire clip.

"An American is an idea. No group owns being an American. Nobody owns this.... I don't do this much but I want to thank Ted Kennedy (laughter)... We are not going to run people down, we are not going to scapegoat people, we are going to tell the bigots to shut up..."

Bob Conley is being endorsed by ALIPAC because he has promised to oppose Amnesty in any form for illegal aliens and to support more immigration enforcement and border security. Senator Graham has received a deplorable grade of 'D' at betterimmigration.com

"We have a case in South Carolina, where Bob Conley better represents the over 80% of voters who prefer enforcement over amnesty," said Gheen. "Lindsey Graham supports Amnesty over enforcement of our existing immigration laws and his own words are about to come back to haunt him."

ALIPAC is a multi-ethnic national organization, founded on 9/11/2004, with over 25,000 supporters representing all 50 states. The organization appears regularly on FOX, CNN, MSNBC, and CBC and is supported by many LEGAL immigrants who favor the reversal of illegal immigration in America through the humane and non racist enforcement of our existing immigration laws. For more information, please visit www.alipac.us

Lindsey Graham's ENTIRE sellout speech to La Raza follows:

Conley Charges Sen. Graham With Setting The Stage For Crisis

Democratic challenger Bob Conley, running for South Carolina’s U.S. Senate seat, is strongly opposed to the kind of meddling in financial markets that is supported by Lindsey Graham and which is responsible for today’s economic crisis.

“The current economic crisis is a direct consequence of the flawed legislation Lindsey Graham voted for while serving in the House of Representatives,” said Conley. “Lindsey Graham has hurt South Carolina and the Nation beyond measure.”

Graham voted in 1999 for the euphemistically-named Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 which repealed the common-sense restrictions on the financial sector imposed by the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933.

This repeal of Glass-Steagall set up the current crisis by allowing Wall Street firms to integrate banking, insurance and brokerage services under the same roof, with virtually no regulatory oversight.

“Lifting Glass-Steagall restrictions launched a new era of irrational risk-taking, led to dangerous financial practices, and allowed the perilous consolidation of the financial sector into too few hands,” said Conley. “This centralization of financial power now threatens to destabilize our economy and further sink our once vibrant Middle Class into a hole from which they may never climb out.”

Lindsey Graham’s vote in 1999 had the following impact on South Carolina and the Nation:

· Feverish speculation caused the so-called “dot.com” crash that wiped out $5 trillion in market value of technology companies from March 2000 to October 2002. At the time, Fed chairman Alan Greenspan called this “irrational exuberance”.

· Lax regulatory oversight set up, accelerated and perpetuated sub-prime mortgage loans and their bundling into prime investments that promised high returns – an unsustainable proposition by any common-sense measure.

· The results: $29 billion to bail out Bear Stearns; $85 billion for 80 percent of AIG to nationalize it; $150 billion in a stimulus package to flood the nation with cash; $250 billion to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; and now $700 billion to save the national economy from the excesses of Wall Street. All this with no guarantee of success!

After helping to lead our Nation into a financial crisis of such devastating magnitude, Lindsey Graham no longer can claim to have the knowledge, insight and hands-on experience to continue representing South Carolinians in the U.S. Senate.

In financial terms, it is time for the voters of South Carolina to withdraw Lindsey Graham from the U.S. Senate and deposit Bob Conley as their sound investment in the future.

Bob Conley or Lindsey Graham?

Send Goober Grahamnesty Packing

It becomes clearer by the day that John McCain did his candidacy a great favor by "crossing the aisle" to the conservatives of his party and selecting a running mate with whom the base is not only comfortable, but enthusiastically embraces.

Consider what the outcome might have been had he heeded the advice of South Carolina's Lindsey Graham and chosen the pro-abortion liberal, Senator Joe Lieberman. Graham, never one to concern himself with the views of those fool enough to vote for him, wanted McCain to shake up the political landscape by choosing a man who has earned an "F" from the National Rifle Association and "zeroes" from the National Right to Life Committee, the Christian Coalition and the American Conservative Union. Take away Lieberman's hawkish votes on Iraq and any legislation benefiting Israel, and Al Gore's running mate is more liberal than half of his Democrat colleagues and all Republicans. He earns from the ADA a score of 80, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) award him an 86, and the American Civil Liberties Union an 83.

South Carolina's Republican Senator would turn his back on the Republican Party, as he has turned his back on his own electorate, to support a liberal, pro-choice, anti-Second Amendment, Democrat for the VP nominee of the Republican Party. Such a decision would likely have resulted in a floor fight and a walk-out on the part of many conservative Republicans. It would have left the base dispirited and in quest of third party candidates, and millions of Republicans would have stayed home on election day.

After outspending his Republican Primary opponent by 9 to 1, one-third of South Carolina Republicans voted against their incumbent Senator. On primary night Graham was not chastened; he rather took the victory as encouragement for even more defiance of South Carolina views and values. This is a man we need to unload now before he does even more damage and becomes more entrenched.

Fortunately, Senator McCain ignored the advice of his "Mini Me" and chose a running mate that inspires Republicans and independents. But South Carolina should think long and hard before renewing Graham's contract. We can hope that McCain might relieve the state of this embarrassment and give Grahamnesty a federal appointment; but we "bigots" who actually believe that US sovereignty, borders and laws should be respected, should not pass up the opportunity to send a message to all RINO's.

We have in Bob Conley someone who will defend the US border, support US-first trade policies and end the outsourcing of US industry and jobs. Conley supports the Fair Tax, will restore sound, honest money, and halt the fall of the dollar. Conley will oppose predatory lending practices, end the Wall Street bailouts, and put a lid on massive expenditures at home and abroad. Most importantly, he is committed to the strict interpretation of the Constitution - the rights of states and individuals, and will work to restore the federal government to its proper role and size.

Goober Grahmnesty, if in nothing else, has been straight about where he stands. It is time South Carolina sent him packing.

Buddy Witherspoon for US Senate

South Carolina has become painfully aware that the man they elected to succeed the legendary Strom Thurmond does not represent South Carolina values in the United States Senate.

As a recent article in The American Spectator makes clear, Lindsey Graham is far more comfortable espousing the views of his political allies Hillary Clinton and Ted Kennedy, than he is representing the people that elected him. Indeed, he has been called the third Senator from Massachusetts.

The good news is that South Carolinians have a choice, and next month Republicans can nominate a true conservative, dedicated to liberty, sound fiscal policies, securing our border and eliminating illegal immigration. Buddy Witherspoon believes parents, not the government, should decide who will educate their children, and he believes marriage is a sacred institution ordained by God, that is the union of one man and one woman. He will also ensure that those appointed to the federal judiciary respect the Constitution of the United States as it was written by our founding fathers.

Buddy Witherspoon is a dedicated family man with decades of service to his community and our state. If you have not had the opportunity to meet him, the following is his schedule for the next few days.

Friday May 16th – News 19 WLTX – Columbia, Live TV Interview – 7:00pm – 7:30pm.

Monday May 19th – Aiken Republican Club Luncheon – 12:00pm – 1:00pm Newberry Hall, Aiken, SC. Buddy is the featured speaker.

Monday May 19th – Myrtle Beach Republican Club’s Whistle-Stop Candidate Forum – 5:30pm – 7:30pm. Myrtle Beach Train Depot, Myrtle Beach, SC. Buddy is a speaker at this event.

Monday May 19th – Waccamaw Neck GOP – 7:00pm – 8:00pmLibrary, Pawley’s Island, SC. Buddy is a speaker at this event.

Tuesday May 20th – Lancaster GOP Meeting – 7:00pm – 8:00pmUSC-Lancaster, Bradley Building, Lancaster, SC. Buddy is the featured speaker.

For the sake of your family and our state, please vote for Buddy Witherspoon in next month's Republican Primary and restore the kind of representation in Washington that our nation and our state need and deserve.

The Worst Republican Senator

From The American Spectator

By Quin Hillyer

South Carolina's Lindsey Graham is a flop. He pretends to be a conservative, but sells out conservatives and insults them while doing so. He pretends to be effective at reaching across party lines, but the only thing he effectively does is help the other party. He inhabits the Senate seat of Strom Thurmond, legendary for great attention to his South Carolina constituents, but Graham spends most of his time trailing behind John McCain like a valet as McCain criss-crosses the country in pursuit of the presidency. He called Ted Kennedy "one of the most principled men I've ever met." In sum, in the words of conservative movement stalwart Richard Viguerie, "Lindsey Graham is part of the problem.

"What, for example, could possibly have possessed Graham, in April of 2006, to write an essay for Time magazine about the virtues of Hillary Clinton? He called her "a smart, prepared, serious senator." She is "sought out by her colleagues to form legislative partnerships." She has managed to "build unusual political alliances with...conservatives.

"He praises liberals, but reserves particular venom for conservatives who disagree with him. The most infamous example came at a speech to the utterly radical Hispanic group La Raza -- it was bad enough that he spoke to them, much less what he said -- when he described what he would do to opponents of the awful immigration proposal he helped Ted Kennedy craft: "We're going to tell the bigots to shut up." The idea that only a bigot could oppose the Kennedy amnesty plan was a recurring theme with Graham: On This Week, he told George Stephanopoulos that opponents were like those in earlier years who put up signs that said "No Catholics, no Jews, no Irish need apply."

MEANWHILE, GRAHAM deserves every bit of abuse conservatives can heap on him for his record on judicial nominees, which swings back and forth between pathetically ineffective and absolutely counterproductive. Of his leading role in the "Gang of 14," which saved the Democrats' unprecedented option of filibustering President Bush's nominees, Graham clearly thought his gesture of goodwill would win him some chits with Democrats. Think again. Right now his home circuit, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, suffers from the most serious official "judicial emergency" in the country, with only 10 of the 15 seats filled.

Again and again, Graham has stood by helplessly, without seeming to lift a finger in public protest, as Fourth Circuit nominees have been hung out to dry -- except for the time (more on this later) when he himself was the enthusiastic hangman. Even though he sits on the Judiciary Committee, he cannot even secure a hearing for his home-state nominee, the superbly qualified, Reagan Administration veteran Steve Matthews, who has been waiting for eight solid months. On the other hand, more aggressive Republicans on the committee have had far more success: For instance, John Cornyn of Texas has effectively shepherded Texans Jennifer Elrod and Catherina Hayes to confirmation since the Democrats re-took the Senate majority -- and without once sucking up to the Democrats to do it.

In a conference call with conservative bloggers and reporters a few weeks back, Graham defended the Gang thusly: "It was about a process. It was about whether we were going to change the rules to get a simple majority vote to get approval for the bench. If you change the rules, you weaken the Senate." But he had it backwards. It was the Democrats who had thrown out the understanding of the rules that had applied for 214 years, an understanding that it was exactly a "simple majority" that was all that was necessary for confirmation. It was to restore the proper understanding of the rules that Republican leaders threatened the "constitutional option" against Democratic filibusters -- and it was Graham who saved the day for the Democrats.

Meanwhile, the Gang at least was supposed to make it somewhat easier to confirm judges by ruling out filibusters except in "extraordinary circumstances." It didn't work. Before the Gang, when there were just 51 Republican senators, the Senate approved 19 of 31 appeals court nominees. After the Gang, even with a larger bloc of 55 Republicans in the Senate, the confirmation rate was actually lower: just 16 out of 28. What's worse, other than the three nominees immediately approved through the Gang's deal, the few other post-Gang nominees who were approved tended to be less solidly conservative than the ones approved in the previous Congress.

And, of course, once the Democrats re-took a the majority, none of the Gang's supposed goodwill did any good: So far this Congress the Senate has confirmed just seven appellate nominees, and just one this year -- again, without Graham making much of a peep about it.

GRAHAM'S WORST ACTIONS on this front, though, came when he led the fight against South Carolina native Jim Haynes for a Fourth Circuit spot, supposedly because Haynes advocated "torture" at Guantanamo Bay. That issue has been well covered here, here, and here. In just the past month, though, new releases of Justice Department documents show conclusively that the impetus for the enhanced "stress positions" at Guantanamo came from Justice, and in stronger fashion even than had previously been known, to Haynes; and fair consideration of those memos make it all the more clear that Haynes' subsequent actions to make the interrogation methods more lenient should have earned him Graham's praise, not his calumny.

Less well known than Graham's apostasies against conservatism on judges and immigration was his horrendous performance when President Bush was pushing personal accounts for Social Security. After putting himself forward as Bush's point man in the Senate, he failed to make any headway -- and then it became obvious why: Graham never really cared about personal accounts to begin with. "We've now got this huge fight over a sideshow," Graham told Washington Post reporters and editors. "It's always been a sideshow, but we sold it as the main event." Added Graham: "we're off in a ditch over a sideshow." He said this in March of 2005, directly undercutting Bush while Bush was still just getting fully geared up to fight the good fight for this crucial conservative reform. By the end of that month, he was pushing his own plan for what the Post called "significant tax increases" to make Social Security solvent.

Graham also has an absolutely terrible record on tort reform, not just voting against GOP-backed reforms but actually joining filibusters against them. As class-action plaintiffs' attorneys terrorize businesses and doctors with spurious lawsuits seeking jackpot justice, Lindsey Graham roots them on.

On family issues, the conservative Eagle Forum gave him just a 44% rating in 2006. That same year he did terribly by the lights of the English First, which explains itself thusly: "Our goals are simple: Make English America's official language. Give every child the chance to learn English. Eliminate costly and ineffective multilingual policies." Graham received just a 25% rating from the group.

"Graham doesn't seem to have any conservative vision," Viguerie said. "He doesn't seem to walk with conservatives. I'm not aware of any movement conservatives on his staff."

But for South Carolina's senior senator, who needs conservatives when getting in the good graces of Hillary Clinton and Ted Kennedy is so much fun?

Quin Hillyer is an associate editor at the Washington Examiner and a senior editor of The American Spectator. He can be reached at qhillyer@gmail.com.

Now the People Will Speak

Senator Lindsey "Hissy Fit" Graham has made it quite clear that he believes he knows better than the vast majority of South Carolinians. He defied the people of our state again and again to not only support policies most people in South Carolina find appalling, he has been the chief sponsor and cosponsor of legislation overwhelmingly repudiated by most Americans.

• He brokered a deal to protect the right of Democrats to filibuster judicial nominations.
• His concern for the "rights" of terrorists has caused him to block an up-or-down vote on Fourth Circuit nominee Jim Haynes.
• "Graham uncovered classified memos in 2005 dealing with the use of extreme measures to get information from detainees at Gitmo. Graham made sure those memos were declassified and caused the entire controversy regarding supposed torture, a charge that Democrats have exploited to this day, despite all evidence to the contrary. Now we are faced with Terrorist detainees being transported to the US and having full access to US courts and law. Does anyone believe this will make America safer?"
• Graham has worked to grant Islamic terrorists full Geneva Convention protection, even though such individuals are exempt from such protections.
• Graham has supported amnesty and a "path to citizenship" for millions of foreign nationals who have illegally broken into our country, many of them with criminal records.

Graham has pledged that he will tell "the loud people" and "bigots" that oppose such policies to "shut up." But next year the voters of South Carolina will have a chance to respond to the liberal quisling intent on currying favor with Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton and John McCain. The 2008 Senate race will also be an opportunity to give South Carolina's superb, conservative U. S. Senator, Jim DeMint, a partner he can work with in the interest of the hard working taxpayers of South Carolina.

Next week Republican National Committeeman, Dr. Buddy Witherspoon, will announce his candidacy to ensure that Senator Hissy Fit is a one-term Senator. Dr. Witherspoon will launch his campaign with a whirlwind tour of South Carolina this coming Tuesday and Wednesday. Unlike Graham, Buddy Witherspoon will support border security and will not offer any "path to citizenship" to aliens who are here illegally.

Please show up, listen to Buddy outline his conservative vision for our state and nation and show your support. Here is the schedule:

Tuesday, November 27th:

9:30 AM - Tommy Ham House, 214 Rutherford Street, Greenville, SC.

11:00 AM - The Beacon Drive-In, 225 John B. White Blvd., Spartanburg, SC.

1:30 PM - The Sunset Grill, 1213 Sunset Blvd., West Columbia, SC.

4:30 PM - Sticky Fingers, 7690 Northwoods Blvd., N. Charleston, SC.

Wednesday, November 28th:

10:00 AM - Horry Co. Govt. & Justice Center, 1301 2nd Ave., Conway, SC.

1:00 PM - Florence City/County Complex, 180 N. Irby St., Florence, SC.

4:15 PM - The Alley, Aiken, SC.

For more information, see Dr. Witherspoon's website: http://buddywitherspoon.com/

If you have questions contact Dean Allen (864) 561-0758 or Dan Herren (864) 230-5334.