Lindsey took time out of his busy campaign schedule (McCain’s, not the campaign to keep his own job here in SC) to speak about Ted Stevens’ legal issues:
“Being charged with a crime is a big deal,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). “He needs to be able to have his day in court like everyone else.”
Asked if Stevens should resign, Graham said, “if you have a dark cloud over you, I just don’t feel comfortable telling someone what to do. (But) I don’t subscribe to the notion that you have to give up your career.”
Most of the folks in Congress continue to shake hands and slap Stevens on the back, their only concern being how it will affect their positions on important committees. Is there no one willing to actually call out the folks in our party who continue to screw over the America taxpayer, even when they get caught with their pants down?
Looks like Sen Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), whom allegations of corruption have swirled around for years, is under indictment by the Justice Department. It’s just a shame that the GOP leadership didn’t force this crook out long ago. Perhaps we’ll see a decrease in pork spending if the “Bridge to Nowhere” backer is in prison. One more example of our party leaders being more concerned with power than principles.
See-dubya has a new post at MichelleMalkin.com that tries to bring some sunshine to this election cycle’s disgruntled conservatives. He mentions “Down the Ticket”, a new site highlighting conservatives in local races, and points out that there are a lot of conservatives down the ticket for those that hate pulling the lever for McCain. Unfortunately for some of us, we are stuck with McCain Jr in Lindsey Graham.
It’s either Graham or a Ron Paul Democrat in Bob Conley. Both call themselves conservative (strangely the Democrat is actually farther to the right on most issues). So do you go with the incumbent who called those that want our laws enforced “bigots” (in front of a group called “The Race”), or do you go with the challenger who thinks our troops in Iraq are occupiers. Decisions, decisions….
Polling done earlier this month shows that, as we expected, McBride was pulling more votes from Conley than he was from Graham. McBride was pulling in 10% and once removed from the slate, Conley shot up by 11 points. However, Flat-top Bob still has a long way to go to be competitive with Lindsey.
Looks like a few things have changed while I was on vacation. After failing to get enough signatures, Mark McBride won’t be on the Senate ballot with Graham and Conley.
Although, this may actually be a better scenario for Conley than Graham, since he would have likely split the anti-Graham vote with McBride. In this topsy-turvy race, the key will now be how many Democrats will vote for the less conservative Republican candidate and how many disaffected Republicans will vote for the conservative Democrat.
Graham may still steamroll Conley, but I’m hoping for at least a few fun stories in an otherwise depressing election year.
It ain’t Rasmussen, but fun nonetheless. John Hawkins at Right Wing News conducted a poll of right of center bloggers to name their least favorite Republican office holder. And the winner is… a tie between Chuck Hagel and Arlen Specter. I think I can pretty much agree with these results.
Our boy Lindsey ranks in at #7 and was tied with…. Larry Craig.
It looks like Sen. Obama’s campaign plans include South Carolina in the general election. As this article from the Greenville News points out, this would likely be more of a boon for Democrats in state races rather than Obama’s presidential hopes. It could certainly make the Graham-Conley race a bit tighter.
There is already a Michelle Obama fundraiser in the works and if polling begins to look better, we could see a lot more cash and a bit more focus from Barack himself on South Carolina. A solidly red SC won’t likely see a huge turnaround. However, with a possible historic turnout for black voters and an energized Democratic party, it may be a difference for Republican candidates like Graham that don’t have their base completely behind them.
Jim Antle had an interesting pieceon the Democratic challenger Bob Conley. Bob is actually to the right of Lindsey on most issues. After winning his primary with just over 1,000 votes, here’s what his challenger Michael Cone had to say: “We’ve nominated a Republican in a Democratic primary.”
Conley is a Ron Paul Democratand says a lot of things that a conservative Republican would like. Like Ron Paul, it’s when he starts talking about “occupation” in Iraq that the dissappointment sets in for some. Like Mark McBride, he’s a long shot to upset Lindsey. The questions now are whether he’ll be able to attract more disaffected Republicans than McBride and whether Obama’s long coat tails in SC will get him within reach of a win. Either way, this should turn out to be an interesting race, particularly with Lindsey being forced to say things like this: “From what I can tell, he doesn’t represent moderation. I represent a brand of conservatism that you will feel comfortable with.”
A new video produced by the not so mysterious “Lorne Baxter” has shown up this week. It’s well done (if you discount the tongue-in-cheek, but off-putting weirdness ) and should provide some free ammo for Mark McBride.
Mark McBride has launched a petition drive to be placed on the US Senate ballot as an Independent. Will he have any better luck than Buddy Witherspoon? Or will he draw enough disaffected Republicans away from Lindsey to give the race to Democrat Bob Conley(who’s also running to the right of Lindsey on immigration)?
