Op-Ed: T̶e̶n̶ F̶i̶v̶e̶ Three Reasons To Respect Lindsey Graham
The longer one remains in elected office, the harder it becomes to remain respected.
A good name can be sullied in a New York minute. Some lose all respect of colleagues and constituents in one huge implosion, while others fritter it away over time like bargaining chips. In either case, a politician who survives their career ends up battered and beaten. Rare is the legislator that comes out on the other end having gained any respect. South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham is no exception.
After almost thirty years of elected office, the unmarried Air Force veteran knows the peaks and valleys. As recently as 2016, Graham was a serious and respected candidate for the Republican presidential nomination. Then, Donald Trump looked his way and he crapped his Underoos. It's been a downward spiral ever since.
But there are quite a few, many some three reasons to give Lindsey Graham, at the very least, a modicum of respect.
Sen. Graham knows the value of compromise. When there is absolutely no hope of advancing his agenda, his abandonment of ethics is always on the table. That's what made it so easy for him to slide into bed with the man he referred to as "a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot". He's never been one to let his own personal beliefs stand in the way of what is wrong.
His willingness to reach across state lines to help election officials find 11k votes that were misplaced in Georgia shows us his "act locally, think globally" attitude. Certainly, he acts like a senator from South Carolina, but thinks enough about his neighbors in another state to help them repair their broken election system. Not every senator would help fix an election, especially in another jurisdiction. But, not every senator is Lindsey Graham. The State of Georgia thanked him with a subpoena. He hasn't RSVPed yet, but when he shows up he won't be empty-handed. He'll bring some wine or a bundt cake. He's just that kind of guy.
He's not Ted Cruz. This may be the absolute minimum in requirements for any level of respect, but Graham meets it. Anyone who isn't Ted Cruz deserves a second look. He may flip-flop like a gasping flounder on a sun-soaked pier, and cower in the shadow of the big orange monster, but he's still just Lindsey Graham. Not Ted Cruz.
