Graham's Palmetto Problem?
Those who depart from party orthodoxy don't have it easy these days. Just ask Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Rep. Joe Schwarz (R-MI), who lost their primaries to more partisan contenders in August, or Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), who narrowly held on to his seat two years ago. Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) may be the next to go, as he faces more conservative Cranston Mayor Steve Laffey (R) on Tuesday. The trend may not stop in 2008, and the number one target on conservatives' lists is Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
On Friday, Graham may have gotten a reprieve, as SC Treasurer candidate Thomas Ravenel (R) told the Greenville News that he had "no intention to run" against Graham in '08. Ravenel, making his second bid for statewide office, missed making the runoff for the state's other senate seat by just over 4,000 votes in 2004. Many think that, had he bested now-Sen. Jim DeMint (R) for the second spot in the runoff, he would have easily won the runoff, as DeMint did.
A wealthy developer, Ravenel has long considered a bid against Graham. One veteran GOP operative who opposes Graham said that Graham has irritated the state's conservatives by joining the Gang of 14, voting to raise certain taxes and siding with those in the Senate working on comprehensive immigration reform, rather than taking an enforcement-only approach. Graham has managed to further frustrate conservatives, the operative went on, by working with prominent Democrats in his own legislative efforts -- including Sens. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Hillary Clinton (D-NY).
That's the charge, anyway.
Graham's record may be reasonably conservative. He's consistently rated as one of the Senate's more conservative members by nearly every group that issues ratings. But his actions and demeanor have riled particularly those partisans in his state who think they deserve a senator whose vote they don't have to worry about. Ravenel, running against the state's 82-year-old, 8-term incumbent treasurer, could be the candidate around whom conservatives rally as the candidate able to take on Graham's $2.1 million war chest.
While the Greenville News took Ravenel's statement to mean he wouldn't challenge Graham, the treasurer hopeful never actually took himself out of the running for the seat. While Ravenel has no intention to run now, that may change if he knocks off a state legend to win in November. If Ravenel wins, says our source, "then his star has a new shine to it.
And Graham, like Lieberman, Schwarz, Specter, Chafee and so many others lately, might have something serious to worry about. [REID WILSON]