Priceless
Posted on 06/17/2007 12:52:12 PM PDT by TornadoAlley3
WASHINGTON -- Lee Rogers, chairman of the Anderson County Republican Party, was at the beach last week when his cell phone rang. It was an urgent call from one of Rogers' Upstate GOP activists.
"He asked me what I was going to do to find somebody to run against Lindsey Graham (next year)," Rogers said. "I explained to the gentleman that's not something I can put together as a single county chairman. That's got to happen with the people."
It could be happening.
Graham, a Seneca Republican nearing the end of his first Senate term, has taken plenty of heat before, but perhaps never like this.
Thanks to his high-profile help in crafting an immigration reform bill that has stalled in the Senate, constituents call and leave screaming messages on his office voice mail.
"NO AMNESTY! NO AMNESTY!" one repeat caller yells for a minute or more in angry overnight messages that greet his aides in the morning.
Graham's staff estimates that his Senate offices have received about 3,000 letters, phone calls, e-mails and faxes about immigration in the last month, most of them critical of him. Talk-radio hosts within and beyond South Carolina deride Graham as a Ted Kennedy toady.
Rush Limbaugh has taken to calling him "Lindsey Grah-amnesty."
Bloggers challenge his manhood, assault his patriotism, mock his intellect.
Still worse for where he comes from, they belittle his Southern bona-fides.
Furious Republican loyalists lobby online for someone -- anyone -- to step forward and challenge Graham in the 2008 primary when he seeks re-election.
One Web site, dumplindsey.org, gets dozens of comments a day, few of them friendly.
"Did anyone go and see Benedict Arnold Graham and bring rotten eggs and tomatoes?" a blogger named j--richard wrote in the comments section of a Greenville News article about a recent appearance there by Graham to boost the immigration bill.
The names of possible GOP primary challengers to Graham fly across the Internet:
Gov. Mark Sanford and Rep. Gresham Barrett. Attorney General Henry McMaster. Charlie Condon, Mark McBride, Oscar Lovelace. Greg Ryberg and Buddy Witherspoon.
The name mentioned most often is State Treasurer Thomas Ravenel.
In an online survey Thursday, SCHotline.com asked whether Ravenel should break his treasury campaign pledge not to challenge Graham next year. Among 342 responders, 53 percent said "yes" while 47 percent chose "no."
"He's humbled and flattered that there are folks out there who are mentioning his name as a (Senate) candidate, but he believes in honoring his commitment," Scott Malyerk, a spokesman for Ravenel, said Thursday. "Nothing's changed."
With Graham's high national as well as statewide name recognition and his campaign war chest approaching $4 million, GOP political operatives say, any window for mounting a viable campaign against him is closing fast.
"There could be some potential political damage, but whether or not his nomination is in jeopardy, I don't know," said Rogers of Anderson County. "If somebody's going to do it, they need to do it now, and they need to get at it."
Graham said he's ready for any opponent, Republican or Democrat.
"Anyone who runs against me better get up early and stay late because I think I've been one heck of a good senator for my state and my party," Graham said Thursday in an interview. "I intend to seek office on the basis that I am not afraid to do what needs to be done."
If only 3,000 have expressed opposition, then the popular Graham must be a shoo-in for 2008. I suspect that 3,000 was recorded, but several thousand others could not get through.
It’s so risky to take on a popular icon like Graham than many will decline to run. Republican voters will be told to stick with Graham, or the seat (the old Thurmond seat, Republican since 1964) will surely go Democrat in 2008.
Not just in South Carolina.....Goober Grahamnesty has gone NATION-WIDE!
And for good reason.
Grahamnesty is an effeminate, globalist moron.
Strom is rolling in his grave about now. Goober must go.
Priceless
While I am all for tossing all pro-amnesty politicians out of office the next time around, We gotta be careful. If we throw support behind someone so far to the right that they have no moderate appeal we will be no more effective than Dems who have gotten behind Dennis Kucinich or John Edwards. There is political reality to consider. Don’t believe me? Just consider how well, or rather how poorly, third party candidates have done in the past.
Then why is his money slowing down coming in to him..big time..
*snicker*
He's been reading too many of his own press releases. Methinks Goober is in for one heck of a surprise!
Graham wasn’t concerned about his various stands in the Senate, because he really thought he would be on the McCain-Graham ticket and become VP in 08.
Now, with McCain’s declining poll numbers, Graham may be in search of a Plan B.
I live in Seneca, a couple miles from Grahams house. I thought I would never see the day when I would be willing to vote against any Republican, especially Graham but that time has come.
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