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Praise that conservatives are pouring on Sen. Jim DeMint for his prominent role in defeating the immigration bill last week is adding to the woes of South Carolina’s other Republican senator, Lindsey Graham.
In a bid to oust Graham from office in next June’s primary elections, South Carolina conservatives are trying to find a Republican candidate whose political leanings are like DeMint’s.
“There are frequent conversations where people say, ‘We sure appreciate what Jim has done, but we don’t know what is wrong with Lindsey,’” said David Woodard, a former campaign manager for Graham and now a political scientist at Clemson University. “[Graham] is in pretty serious trouble.”
For weeks, the senior senator from South Carolina has been vilified by conservatives, who have coined the term “Grahamnesty,” referring to his central role in attempting to push through an immigration bill that would have created a pathway to citizenship for some 12 million illegal immigrants.
That follows the ire Graham drew from the right in 2005 for joining the so-called Gang of 14 to break a partisan standoff over President Bush’s judicial nominees, and his backing for a compromise Social Security overhaul that some saw as a tax increase. Graham is also closely associated with presidential aspirant Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), whose 2000 bid for the Republican nomination was derailed partly due to fierce opposition by South Carolina conservative activists.
Graham says he has sought to solve problems despite the political risks. “I hope one thing I’ve proved is that the risk I’m unwilling to accept is walking away,” he told The Hill minutes after the immigration bill was defeated last week. This has brought scant praise from his right-wing critics.
DeMint’s stature, though, has risen among conservatives, who call him a hero for his unflagging criticism of the immigration measure, which was soundly rejected by the Senate last week and will probably not become law before 2009.
DeMint has been a persistent thorn in the side of Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) — most recently when he blocked Reid’s efforts last week to move to conference on an ethics and lobbying bill because of his months-long effort to force an immediate change in Senate rules for new earmark disclosure requirements.
The junior senator has kept his distance from McCain, and backs Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for the GOP presidential nomination.
But despite incipient rebellion on the right and falling poll numbers, Graham remains on pretty firm footing to win a second term in the Senate. He has amassed a war chest of $3.7 million through the first quarter of this year.
State Treasurer Thomas Ravenel, who had been expected to mount a serious challenge in the primary, was indicted last month on charges of conspiring to distribute cocaine. No formidable Democratic candidate has emerged.
Two new names are circulating in conservative circles: state GOP Chairman Katon Dawson and David Wilkins, U.S. ambassador to Canada and former state Speaker of the House. Wilkins did not return phone calls.
Dawson said the recruitment drive is “flattering” but that he is focused on the state’s presidential primary in January.
“Being a U.S. Senate candidate is something that is not in my playbook right now,” he said.
Even if new candidates jump into the race, South Carolina primary rules may help Graham because voters may vote in either party’s primary. Democrats may turn out to support Graham.
“I think Democratic voters have been pleasantly surprised by Graham,” said Danielle Vinson, associate professor at Furman University in Greenville, S.C. “But there’s certainly a lot of time for him to mend fences [with Republicans].”
Next week will give Graham an opportunity to burnish his conservative credentials, when the Senate takes up a defense
policy bill expected to turn into an all-out debate over the Iraq war. Graham has been a strong supporter of the war and of the troop surge President Bush announced in January. The senator will probably oppose efforts by Democrats to grant habeas corpus rights to alleged terrorists.
Then DeMint and Graham will be arguing on the same side again, after weeks divided over immigration. They both say they have a very good and long-standing friendship that grew close during the four years (1998-2002) that their terms in the House overlapped.
But analysts note the two don’t appear to be working in concert during national debates over major public policy issues.
When they attend Republican events in South Carolina together, the crowds generally are far friendlier to DeMint than they are to Graham, analysts there say.
“It can make for an uncomfortable gathering,” Vinson said.
During DeMint’s successful run for the Senate in 2004, Graham’s political action committee contributed over $6,300 for his campaign; through the first quarter of this year, DeMint has yet to give money to Graham’s campaign, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Graham says the two agree “90 percent of the time,” and he doesn’t think their differences on immigration have hurt their standing in the state.
DeMint seems to agree. “I think Senator Graham is a tough fighter, and if he’s in a tough position, he can fight his way out of it,” DeMint said. “He’s done it before and so have I.” |
