Lindsey Graham: A Souless Man

I apologize for my absence from blogging as of lately. I have had a lot on my plate and, though I have had some time to blog, I preferred to spend that time relaxing. I intend to be back in the swing of things by week’s end.

For now, I would like to comment on a series of videos featuring Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina facing a hostile crowd at a town hall meeting on Monday.

When addressing the crowd, Graham lauded his ability to throw principle by the wayside in order to “win.”

This is nothing new. I have seen Graham do this for years. For that very reason, I despise Lindsey Graham more than any other figure in politics—more than anyone regardless of party or ideological allegiance. It is not merely his ability to compromise without concern that makes Graham so despicable in my eyes. Rather, it is the way he carries himself afterward in a braggadocios manner hailing himself as someone who knows "how to win."

What I see in said behavior is a politician pointing out his ability to defy his constituents and the Constitution he has swore to defend without ever worrying about losing his job. The cycle is simple: he claims to be a conservative, wins on that claim, and then immediately betrays his so-called “principles.”

The sad thing is Graham has been able to pull off this arrogant display of political theater for years, unchecked. I have seen it myself, and have even talked to those once close to him about Graham’s proud reputation as a compromiser—a compromiser of principle not methods mind you. One of his good friends during their tenure together in the “Republican Revolution” of the mid-90s told me plainly over dinner one night, “I don’t know what is wrong with Lindsey. He always looked up to John McCain, and I think he thinks he can please John by being some deal maker. I personally think he has lost his way and is acting disgraceful.” (a rough quote from memory.)

Though I have long wanted Graham out of the GOP and out of Congress altogether, year after year I continue to see him toddling around Capitol Hill with a smug look and a pocket full of compromise.

Finally, people are taking him to task on his constitutional violations and lack of principle. When I viewed these videos this morning a tear literally filled my eye. I saw people, not even of my generation, standing up and demanding true representation, constitutional fidelity, and principled stands on the issues.

My prayer is that there is still hope for America. We may yet be able to turn this thing around. It will not be easy. In fact, it will involve much sacrifice—principled sacrifice. But we must not compromise what we believe in the process. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:26)