Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009

Charleston County GOP censures Sen. Lindsey Graham

CHARLESTON -- The Charleston County Republican Party's executive committee took the unusual step Monday night of censuring U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham for stepping across the GOP party line.

County Chairwoman Lin Bennett said the unanimous vote "is an effort to get his attention. [Party leaders] are just fed up, and they want him to know they're fed up."

The resolution mentions Graham's cooperation with U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., on a bipartisan energy bill, as well as his support for the $700 billion Troubled Assett Relief Program and the time he called some opponents of immigration reform "bigots."

"U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham -- in the name of bipartisanship -- continues to weaken the Republican brand and tarnish the ideals of freedom, rule of law, and fiscal conservatism," the resolution reads.

Bennett said the resolution passed unanimously by a voice vote among about 50 of the party's 104 executive committee members.

She said party faithful have talked about the resolution for a while.

"The feeling is if you're not going to uphold the platform, then why bother to run as a Republican?" she said.

Graham's spokesman Kevin Bishop said his boss has a lifetime conservative voting record of 90 percent and last year was rated the 15th most conservative senator by National Journal.

"Like former President Reagan, he strongly believes elected officials need to find common ground and work together to solve difficult problems like making our nation energy independent and protecting our environment," Bishop said. "Working to solve problems and being conservative are not mutually exclusive. You can do both, and that's what people in South Carolina elected him to do."