Issue date: 1/24/10 Section: News and Opinion

To a lot of South Carolinians, Lindsey Graham is the senator who supports amnesty for illegal immigrants, cap and trade, and compromises with "those liberals in Washington" just way too darn much. But to Lindsey Graham, sure he's a Republican who will sit down and work with the Democrats, but "I'll not get run over by them," he said in a town hall meeting at Clemson's Brooks Center on January 12, 2010. "If we never stop campaigning and trying to destroy the other side all the time, our best days are behind us," said the senator.

Graham, who was born and raised in Central, S.C.- a mere stone's throw from Clemson University- was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1992, and the Senate 10 years later. As senator, Graham has garnered his fair share of national attention by bucking the party line, compromising with Democrats on numerous issues, and befriending and campaigning with 2008 presidential contender Sen. John McCain.

But the national attention has done little to win over the hearts and minds of those who don't buy Graham's conservative credentials. That much was clear when the majority of the questioning centered on cap-and-trade legislation, climate change, and energy-issues that Graham has notoriously sided with Democrats on in the past.

But don't worry, "Cap and trade is dead," said Graham, to which the audience of a few hundred cheered and clapped. However, that didn't stop the senator from elaborating on his views and admitting that when it comes to climate change, he falls "somewhere between James Inhofe and Al Gore;" a statement that garnered just as many laughs as it did boos.

Then Graham turned serious. "There has been a warming trend," he said. "Now, I am not an alarmist, but man-made CO2 emissions contributing to air pollution […] is worth my time and attention." For Graham, if that means supporting cap and trade in exchange for nuclear power, then so be it.

According to Graham, 82 percent of the power in France comes from nuclear power. In the United States, it's only 20 percent. "We need to create our own energy," he said with the authority of a pastor preaching form his pulpit. "We also need to break our dependence on foreign oil." And, if South Carolina wants to drill of its shore for oil, it should have the option to do so, said Graham.

On health care, Graham sided largely with his conservative constituents. "I get it. I know health care is a big deal, and I don't believe the federal government should own it all," he said. If this health care bill is passed, 80 percent of Americans will be on some form of government-provided health care, explained the senator. But the government should allow every American to own their own policy.

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools