CENTRAL. S.C. — That speculation turned out to be true, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham did announce his candidacy for the 2016 Republican nomination for president here, his hometown, which is just down the road from Clemson, far better known due to the university of the same name and its Tigers football team. Graham always struck me as just another yappy Southern pol with a cornpone accent and a certain provincial charm beneficial to fooling some of the following most of the time. Up close there is more there there.
The official word came outside a building where Graham’s parents had operated a pool hall/bar. They died within 15 months of each other when he was in college, leaving him to care for a sister, 13.
“There are a lot of so-called ‘self-made’ people in this world. I’m not one of them. My family, friends, neighbors and my faith picked me up when I was down, believed in me when I had doubts. you made me the man I am today.”
The sister, Darline, told the crowd that ‘He’s kind of like a brother, a father and a mother all rolled into one. Even when my parents were alive they were so busy running their small business … he was truly my caregiver …”
He was a military lawyer for more than 30 years, resigning from the Air Force Reserve this week, citing retirement age; he turns 60 next month. Not surprising for a man with his background, he calls for a strong military. But he once termed excessive interrogation methods ‘torture.” He served a term in the South Carolina House before going to the U.S. House for four terms then the U.S. Senate in 2002.
He and his sister depended on Social Security to survive but says entitlement programs need to be adjusted so they will be there for people who really need them. He was one of the few Republican sponsors of a plan to overhaul the immigration system and says his party stands to lose generations of Latino voters if it blocks the way. Members of the tea party movement and others say he is too willing to compromise.
Graham, a bachelor, backed proposals for a constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage and made an argument that if the Constitution is seen as granting a right to gay marriage it could be interpreted as granting marriage rights to polygamists. He has supported exceptions to abortions such as rape and health of the mother. He went along with his party in denying the EPA the authority to regulate greenhouse gases although he said he thinks human activity is helping raise the level of the gases.
Ultra conservatives say Graham is too liberal. Others from his state have signed on with other candidates. Republican Gov. Nikki Haley didn’t come to the launch but sent out a statement that South Carolina should be proud one of its own entered the race. Hardly a ringing endorsement.
The question is given the number of candidates on the ever-growing list, why Graham would bother. Some of his social issue stands are contrary to what polls show the country thinks. There are governors and former governors in the race who, unlike him, have run governments. Perhaps he thinks he will get lucky. Or that his presence on the South Carolina ballot would ultimately help someone with a better shot at the nomination and remember him favorably. Whatever the reason, he comes across as sincere and a guy unafraid of a deck stacked against him.
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