I knew Lindsey Graham and considered him a friend. Many years ago, when Graham served in the House of Representatives, I met with him multiple times in his office. He was friendly, a good listener, and obviously committed to doing the right thing for South Carolina. The positive descriptions of Graham’s character and his amicability with other legislators we are reading about now are consistent with the Graham I knew.
Graham’s commitment to Donald Trump in recent years, especially after his friend, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) died, disappointed me. When Trump rehabilitated his political career after all but destroying it with January 6 and related efforts to overturn the 2020 election, I was disappointed again with Graham’s continued support of Trump, but I never doubted Graham believed in what he was doing. Graham believed Trump was good for America. That is why, I like to think, Graham managed to see past Trump behavior that he publicly condemned during Trump’s first term in office.
I have many memories of Lindsey Graham, the last being over two decades ago. Many of them involved meetings in his office. But one involved something that surprised me. I was walking across the Capitol Plaza one day, heading from the Senate side to the House, when I noticed Lindsey Graham and a few other Senators walking outside in the distance. He was at least 25 yards away, but not only saw me, but recognized me. He called out, loudly, “Hi, John!”
Graham made a special effort to remember people’s names and make them feel appreciated. He treated everyone that way, it seemed. It didn’t matter if you were a Republican or a Democrat. He had people skills. That is one of the reasons former President Biden wrote a warm tribute to him after his death. Graham could disagree without being disagreeable.
One example of Graham’s nice side: In a 2015 interview, Graham said of then Presidential candidate Joe Biden, “‘If you can’t admire Joe Biden as a person, you’ve got a problem? He’s the nicest person I’ve ever met in politics. As good a man as God ever created.”
In recent years, despite my past experiences with Senator Graham, I came to lose respect for him. It may have been just too many rounds of golf with Trump or his spirited defense of Brett Kavanaugh at a time when Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination appeared to be dead. Graham, apparently not disturbed by reports (arguably unconfirmed) of excessive drinking and abusive sexual behavior, blasted Democrats for attacking the nomination.
Kavanaugh was confirmed and will likely remain seated on the Supreme Court for decades after Graham’s death. Without Graham’s “rescue” of the nomination, the Supreme Court would not be the hot mess that it is today.
I have also been troubled by Graham’s advocacy for military action. He was Trump’s top cheerleader for the war in Iran and continued to champion the war even after it became apparent that it may be a mistake.
On Sunday morning when I learned Graham had died, I was shocked. Unlike a number of other sitting U.S. Senators, Graham seemed healthy. He had just turned 71 years old. I expected him to win his bid for re-election in November and serve at least one more term after that.
Lindsey Graham is now gone. Flags are at half-staff and right-leaning media is canonizing him as a hero. Had Ted Kennedy not already been dubbed “The Lion of the Senate,” somebody would be calling Graham that.
I am sorry Graham died, especially because of his advocacy for Ukraine, contrasting with Trump’s abandonment of Ukraine and abuse of its President. Graham politely differed with Trump on Ukraine. I am grateful for that.
Lindsey Graham, may you rest in peace.
J.E. Dean writes on politics, government, goldendoodles, and other subjects. A former counsel on Capitol Hill and public affairs consultant, Dean is an advocate for democracy, sanity, and the rule of law.
6 Responses
John i agree with most of your generous sentiments. . I don’t agree that Graham could possibly believe that Trump was good for America. Evidence to the contrary is just too glaringly obvious. He thought racial division was ok? Our weakened alliances were good for4 America? That his tariff policies make ay sense at all? Im sure he was a lovely person but bending the knee had too high a cost = for Americans.
He died of an all too common defect in the aorta. My nephew died of the same condition at 36. His was genetic but it is a condition that can appear with age. When I was living in the UK it was mandatory for people of his and my age to be scanned for the possibility of an aortal aneurysm. I believe the US health care system could learn from this untimely death.
Did Lindsey Graham ever support a bill that helped South Carolina’s public schools? South Carolina’s minimum wage workers? South Carolina’s Black farmers? South Carolina’s rural hospitals? South Carolina’s access to health care?
As far as I can tell, before Trump, he at least
worked with others to find common ground. After Graham’s 1/6 reversal, all he did was say yes to Trump.
If Graham had acted on his January 6th speech, he would have gone down in history as a man of conviction; who stood up to a president of his own party because that president tried to incite an insurrection to stop the legal certification of votes.
It’s sad that Senator Graham, for one shining moment, knew what was right for our country but chose to dive right back into the swamp.
Lindsey Graham supported war crimes. A list of war crimes committed by Trump’s administration is lengthly, immoral, and unjustifiable under rules of military engagement adopted after WWII. Lindsay never criticized and only supported all the civilian killings by Trump. No matter how “good ole’ boy” he was, that does not excuse his rabid support of evil.
He was also a bigoted, hateful human who punched down on disadvantaged people. The fact that he smiled at similarly privileged White people does not negate that he was rotten to the core.
In the future, may he be missed as much as his racist predecessor, Strom Thurmond. The fact that Trump supports his sister to replace him indicates that she is probably as bad as he was.
Thank you, Mr Dean, for this account of your relationship with Senator Graham. We rarely agree on policy matters, but it is nice to hear a few kind words from an often harsh voice about conservative politics and people. Kindness goes a long way in reaching people with whom we disagree. We need more of this in political discourse.
Thank you. I should be more kind.