This is the most unethical sham since I’ve been in politics.
And if you really wanted to know the truth,
you sure as hell wouldn’t have done what you’ve done to this guy.
Are you a gang rapist?
[Kavanaugh] No.
That’s Lindsey Graham.
Current United States Senator from South Carolina,
one time presidential hopeful,
and a man who as of 2015 has never sent an email.
Lindsey Olin Graham was born in 1955 in Central, South Carolina,
a former textile mill town between Atlanta and Charlotte.
At the time of Lindsey’s birth, the population of Central was about 2,000.
Two folks embedded in that number were Lindsey’s parents: F.J. and Millie,
high school dropouts who had their very own restaurant-bar-liquor store-pool hall called Sanitary Cafe.
At nine years-old, Lindsey fielded phone calls from concerned wives looking for their husbands.
And by the time he was twelve, he was running the pool hall.
Throughout Lindsey’s childhood,
the Graham family lived in a single room in the back of the business.
In his book, Lindsey for some reason noted,
Graham was the first in his family to go to college.
When he was attending classes at the University of South Carolina,
his parents passed away just 15 months apart from each other,
leaving Graham to take care of his younger sister and the family business,
which eventually went under.
Graham and his sister were able to make ends meet through social security survivor benefits.
And he’d go on to graduate from the University of South Carolina with a B.A. in psychology in 1977
and from the University’s School of Law with a J.D. in 1981.
A year later, Graham was commissioned as an officer and judge advocate in the U.S. Air Force.
First, he spent four years as a prosecutor and defense attorney in Europe.
He explained the fun he had and the freedom that came with being single overseas.
After his very straight stint in Europe,
he left active duty in 1989 and joined the South Carolina Air National Guard where he served until 1995.
The same year, he joined the U.S. Air Force Reserves before retiring at the rank of Colonel in 2015.
Graham’s time in the military has been subject to much contention.
He was promoted twice over ten years during his 33 year tenure.
Under the Freedom of Information Act, Graham’s military record was brought to light.
Craig Whitlock of the Washington Post noted that
Between 1995 and 2005,
Graham was credited with 108 hours of military training - which is less than a day-and-a-half per year.
Although he rarely put on his uniform during that time, he was given promotions.
First as lieutenant colonel and then to colonel.
In an interview with the Washington Post regarding this period of little output and big return, Graham said,
But he stayed on and accepted the promotions and even made them a big point in campaign ads years later.
He has served as a reserve duty officer in Iraq and Afghanistan and has been to the middle east more than twenty times.
However, according to The New York Times Editorial Board, what this campaign video fails to point out is that Graham’s time overseas
only lasted a few days and the trips coincided with trips he was making regardless as part of congressional delegations.
So while Graham was rising in the Air Force Reserve ranks, he was also climbing the ladder of republican politics.
He was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1992,
serving one term - before serving four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.
During which time, he voted for the Defense of Marriage Act,
a federal law which allowed states to disregard same-sex marriages.
When Graham was elected to the Senate in 2002, re-elected in 2008 and 2014,
his views on gay rights only expanded.
He opposed efforts to protect LGBT workers from employment discrimination, calling it agenda driven.
As in terms of employment, discrimination act.
I don’t think I’d vote for it. I think it’s moving an agenda for, that is… not necessary.
And when South Carolina refused to issue benefits to same-sex spouses in the National Guard,
Graham supported the decision.
He even compared the fight for same sex marriage to the abolition of slavery,
saying the people - just like the ones who voted for the abolition -
should decide whether same sex couples are allowed to marry.
Slavery was outlawed by a constitutional amendment.
Go watch Lincoln - great movie.
The people decided.
Graham’s views didn’t always fall in line with a majority of the GOP, however.
He’s been willing to be bipartisan and work with Democrats
on several issues.
He voted to confirm two of president Obama’s Supreme Court nominees
and even worked with Democrats on a climate change bill….but then,
soon after penning the bill, he withdrew his support and voted against that very bill he helped author.
In 2010, Graham — once a staunch supporter of combating climate change —
said climate change was no big deal,
even if 97% of climate science papers disagree with him.
In 2014, Graham was toying with the idea of running for president.
He joked about how white men would do well if he were to win.
Less than a year later, he decided to take this platform to the masses.
I’m Lindsey Graham and I’m running for the president of the United States.
Graham announced his candidacy for President mainly because, in his own words,
He ran on a number of ideas, like:
If I’m president of the United States, we’re going back to Iraq and we’re going to pound these guys into the ground.
And arguably the most important issue:
If I’m president, we’re going to drink more.
Graham had his eye on one opponent he knew he’d have to edge out early if he wanted the nation to drink more.
He attacked Trump - a man who hasn’t touched alcohol - from the get-go.
I don’t care if he drops out, stay in the race,
just stop being a jackass.
You don’t have to run for president and be the world’s biggest jackass.
But when Trump got word of his new moniker, he decided to one up the Senator.
TRUMP: So, Lindsey Graham says to me, ‘please please, whatever you can do.’
So I’m saying to myself, ‘what’s this guy, a beggar?’
He’s like begging me to help him with Fox & Friends.
So I say, ‘ok, and I’ll mention your name.’
He said, ‘could you mention my name?’
and I said, ‘yes, I’ll mention your name.’
He gave me his number and I found the card!
I don’t know if it’s the right number, let’s try it.
202-228-0292.
I don’t know, maybe it’s- you know it’s three or four years ago so maybe it’s an old number.
202-228-0292.
So…
I don’t know, give it a shot!
Graham ended his campaign not too long after,
just six months from the time he first announced his bid.
Graham - like many others - absolutely hated Trump
and the idea of endorsing the man who gave away his phone number didn’t even cross his mind.
In fact, he disliked Trump so much, he endorsed George Bush’s little brother first.
Please clap.
[Forced Clapping]
And then after that bid failed, he endorsed Ted Cruz...
which didn’t make much sense considering Graham once said:
If you kill Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, nobody could convict you.
[Audience Laughter]
But he had a reason for backing the Texas Senator.
NOAH: What else turns you on about Cruz?”
Uh, that he’s not Trump.
In 2016, Graham continued his Trump bashing, tweeting:
And a string of others like:
I’m not going to try and get into the mind of Donald Trump because I don’t think there’s a whole lot of space there.
I think he’s a kook, I think he’s crazy, I think he’s unfit for office.
But since the election, Graham has done a 180 on the man behind Kanye’s favorite hat.
You know what concerns me about the American press is this endless,
endless attempt to label the guy as some kind of kook,
not fit to be president.
A connection could be made to Graham’s sudden support for the president
and the idea that he may have just found out about fun Trump properties.
Graham has become a staunch supporter of president Trump
and all that used to be bipartisan about the Senator from South Carolina
seems to have gone out the window.
What you want to do is destroy this guy’s life,
hold this seat open, and hope you win in 2020.
You’ve said that! Not me.
You’ve got nothing to apologize for.
Graham once warned his Republican friends in 2015 about Donald Trump.
But now it seems like Graham’s idea for the future of the party consists of affirming
and playing golf with those very people.