Thanks, NBC. You had to go and remind us that South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham exists, and boy is he angry at his fellow Kamala Harris-endorsing Republicans!
For starters, it’s good that the frame was “what do you think about all those Republicans endorsing the vice president?” And Graham was hot at the idea that Republicans like former Rep. Liz Cheney would support Harris. (Transcript here.)
“To every Republican supporting her, what the hell are you doing? You’re supporting the most radical nominee in the history of American politics,” he said Sunday on “Meet the Press,” which is the same thing every Republican has ever said about every Democratic nominee in the history of nominees. “And I can’t take four more years of this crap.”
Four more years of this crap!
You might be forgiven for being confused about what “this crap” might mean, given record unemployment, record stock markets, the best economy in the industrialized world, an unexpected avoiding of a recession, and a country finally out of any direct wars. We could all use some more of this “crap!”
So what exactly are Graham’s concerns?
“[A]s to the Democratic agenda, I think it will change America fundamentally, that they want to pack the court, they want to go to 13-9, they want to eliminate the Electoral College,” Graham argued. “You know, they want to make D.C. and Puerto Rico states. So yeah, I think their agenda’s really radical.”
Making America more (small “d”) democratic would change America fundamentally, but for the better. And better yet—expanding the Supreme Court and adding new states—all of that is permitted by our nation’s Constitution. Congress can set the size of the Supreme Court, as well as admit new states. It’s been done before.
None of it is crazy, other than it would dilute the institutional power that Republicans have built for themselves in direct contradiction to the nation’s electorate. Remember, Republicans have lost the popular vote for the last 20 years.
We should have a country that reflects popular support, not one with a 6-3 conservative Supreme Court majority.
Republicans can’t be faulted for wielding power effectively when given the chance, but that courtesy should also be extended to Democrats, and it’s time for our side to do so as well.
And the Electoral College? Is there a reason that billions should be spent to move a few hundred thousand people in just six states? Yes, it has benefited Republicans, but vast swaths of conservative voters in places like southern California, upstate New York, downstate Illinois, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and deep red outposts like Wyoming, Idaho, and West Virginia are ignored by presidential candidates every single election cycle.
Get rid of the Electoral College, and every single conservative voter, no matter where they live, are suddenly critically important. That includes those in Graham’s home state of South Carolina. Republicans should only fear that if they don’t think they can win a simple American majority. (And they don’t.)
What else got Graham hot under the collar?
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“The Green New Deal. Medicare for All.” Given this hurricane season, perhaps Graham shouldn’t be so scared of efforts to combat climate change? His is a coastal state after all. And boy, his constituents could surely use a serious dose of better health care, given South Carolina is the 11th least healthy state in the country by at least one measure.
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“She was the last person in the room before Biden decided to withdraw from Afghanistan.” His boy Donald Trump actually made that decision.
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“She was the border czar.” Harris wasn’t the border czar. But if she was, she could take credit for fewer border crossings than during the Trump presidency.
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“She cast a tie-breaking vote for the Inflation Reduction Act that gives you high prices.” The U.S. inflation rate is now at 2.4%, and has been steadily dropping as elements of the Inflation Reduction Act come online. And Republicans keep wanting to take credit for projects they voted against in that bill.
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“What are you doing? You’re trying to convince me that Donald Trump’s rhetoric is the danger to this country? The danger to this country is the policies of Biden and Harris. Her fingerprints are all over this disaster.” Yes, Trump claiming he wants to be a dictator, that he wants to send the military after his critics, that he wants to deport legal immigrants … yes, all of that is incredibly dangerous.
Graham was clearly on air to make Trump happy. But despite all the angry bluster, his real fear is a Democratic majority that would undo the GOP’s ill-gotten institutional advantages.
And that should sound pretty awesome to us.
