Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina can be considered the “maverick” in Republican ranks, now that Senator John McCain of Arizona claims he is not now, and never has been, a maverick, despite his constant assertions over the years that he was a maverick!
Graham is the new “profile in courage” in the GOP, as he has been critical of the Tea Party Movement, and has shown willingness to work with the Obama Administration on some issues!
He is considered a “traitor” within the Tea Party Movement and his own party, particularly in South Carolina, and will probably face conservative opposition when he next faces the voters in 2014, but he is not concerning himself with that at this point, more than four years away from that challenge!
Yesterday, Graham was the only Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee to back Elena Kagan’s nomination for the Supreme Court, as it was reported out, and is ready to go to the Senate floor for final confirmation!
Graham reprimanded the other GOP senators on the committee, reasserting his earlier stated view on the Supreme Court, when Sonia Sotomayor was up for confirmation last summer!
That statement was that as long as the nominee of the President is qualified, one should give him the respect of supporting his nominee, as he was the winner of the presidential election, and should be entitled to whoever he wants to put on the Supreme Court! As Graham put it, when the voters speak, we should all respect that, and support the President in his right to choose whoever he wants, again as long as the person meets the standard of appropriate qualifications!
It will be interesting to see how many Republican Senators back Kagan in the final vote, as nine of them supported Sotomayor last summer!
Again, plaudits to Lindsey Graham for showing principle and courage! 🙂
It’s refreshing to see a voice reason and a moderate view within the Republican Party. Do you think that Senator Graham will make a swtich to the Democratic Party if the Republicans choose to isolate him and try to replace him with someone more radical, which seems to be the direction the party is headed to. Republicans treatment of Kagan brings some questions to mind. do you think there is a sentiment of anti-semitism from some of the Southern Republican Senate members? When one Senator commented that she “comes from a different kind of background that does not represent his constituents”, I have to wonder what motivates such a comment. Also, asking Kagan how she celebrates or feels about Christmas was irrelevant to her confirmation. I hope to see Kagan on the court, and it will be interesting to see if anyone feels threatened by a possible Jewish,Catholic majority in the High Court.
Jonathan, I find it hard to believe that Lindsey Graham would become a Democrat, but in the political minefield that exists now in Washington, who can say for sure? In any case, he has no worries until 2014, so that is a long time away, and too soon for him to panic!
As far as Anti Semitism, there is ALWAYS a tone of it from so called “religious” people who are hypocrites and narrow minded, and they tend to come more often from the “Heartland” than from the coastlines!
There is already alarm from some sources over the fact that there will now be three Jews and six Catholics on the Supreme Court, along with three women, an African American, a Latina, and two Italians! What is America coming to, when “minorities”, defined as NOT white Anglo Saxon Protestants, control the complete membership of the highest court in the land? 🙂
Of course, we should not celebrate this as much as one should imagine, as the majority of the Supreme Court is clearly right wing conservative, dedicated to the promotion of corporate interests and the wealthy, and ready to do battle with the White House, just as they were in the early New Deal years of Franklin D. Roosevelt!
And the problem is that, assuming Ruth Bader Ginsberg, arguably the most liberal member of the Court, retires due to health reasons before 2012, but after this year’s midterm elections, it will be impossible for Obama to pick someone as liberal as she is, assuming the Senate is more evenly divided than it is now! If everything goes awry, the GOP could even control the Senate next year (if they can, somehow, win 10 seats)! 🙁
The biggest nightmare for Obama and his administration has to be the possibility of the GOP winning the majority or evenly divide Congress. I can see how this could be reminiscent of the Clinton years and how the GOP bitterly opposed his every move, but he was better at bringing people together. The hatred our President faces from the Right leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Bush was criticized and mocked but with good reason, even though I feel the President deserves our respect and benefit of the doubt.