Get Cozy

The number of Republicans that transformed into invertebrates since 2016 is substantial. Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Mike Lee and others warned of the dangers of Donald Trump from the moment he descended Trump Tower on that ridiculous golden escalator. Other prominent GOP’ers like Glenn Beck, Mark Levin, Ben Shapiro, JD Vance used words like “fascist”, “narcissist”, “misogynist”…. “Nazi”.

Good times.

Fast forward to 2020, virtually all of these naysayers fell in line behind the MAGA scourge that overwhelmed traditionally conservative politics. There were notable exceptions: Bill Kristol, Adam Kinzinger, Justin Amash, Charlie Dent, Rick Wilson and others helped form the “Never Trumper” brigade, and held fast to that rallying cry throughout Trump’s first term and beyond.

There’s one person that stands out more than most for his jellyfish-like stance on what is best for America, and that’s Lindsey Graham. The senior Senator from South Carolina had a reputation for firm, but moderate conservative principles – often going out of his way to refute the other side in the most respectful way possible. He and Senator John McCain were joined at the hip, carrying the compassionate conservative message in the spirit of Ronald Reagan. Remember him? Remember watching those Republican primary debates before 2016 and taking a drink each time a candidate mentioned Reagan? By the end of those events most viewers in the room were unable to stand.

Here’s some of Graham’s actual quotes on Donald Trump leading up to 2016’s election:

• “The way you make America great again, is by telling Donald Trump to go to hell.”
• “Donald Trump is a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot.”
• “Donald Trump is a kook. I think he’s crazy.”
• “If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed… and we will deserve it.”

On the heels of the Obama juggernaut of 2008-2016 the GOP were desperately trying to figure out who they were, and what leader would bring them out of wilderness. As Trump redefined what a primary campaign looked like in 2016, Graham and others correctly called out the chaos for what it was – an embarrassment. It was amazing to watch as these “principled conservatives” abandoned all logic to subjugate themselves to Trump, when it became obvious his WWE Royal Rumble approach to politics resonated with the lowest common denominator of the American electorate. Not only did Graham back away from his terrible bid for the Presidency, he decided his path to survival was to pretend his primary assessment of Trump never happened.

Without an scintilla of shame, Graham took to the airwaves to fawn over Trump post primary – and in many cases mirror the form and style of Trump’s rhetoric. This came across more Scarlett O’Hara than Tony Soprano, but that’s another topic.

Trump’s first term was filled with scandal, investigations, arrests, and convictions. He was historical in the worst way – the only President in history to be impeached twice, with the second instance a bipartisan decision dealing with the January 6th attack on the Capitol. That should have been the final nail in the coffin for MAGA, and Trump. Instead, Graham and the GOP doubled down on the race to the bottom. For those moderates seeking a return to normalcy in our politics, this decision by GOP leaders proved to be a potential turning point in America’s centuries-long experiment with democracy.

History won’t be kind to Lindsey Graham and his ilk. They had a choice, and chose this disaster. Each day Graham smugly defends Trump’s racism and utter cruelty, John McCain turns over in his grave. Graham rode McCain’s coattails for years, leveraging McCain’s diplomacy, his grace in the face of tyranny, and his significant influence on the GOP base. Graham threw it all away, for a sip from the chalice at Mar-a-Lago. A “profile in courage”, he is not.