Thread: Graham ends his campaign for the White House

First on CNN: Graham ends his campaign for the White House

By Kate Bolduan, Anchor
Updated 10:06 AM ET, Mon December 21, 2015 | Video Source: CNN

(CNN)Senator Lindsey Graham is ending his presidential campaign, he told CNN during an exclusive interview airing Monday.

"I'm going to suspend my campaign. I'm not going to suspend my desire to help the country," the South Carolina senator said in a wide-ranging and candid discussion in which he acknowledged: "I've hit a wall here."

He made the official announcement in an email to supporters and Youtube video posted Monday morning.

Graham is known for his quick wit and famous for his one-liners (just ask Princess Buttercup about his retort from the last debate), but he was sober, serious and emotional as he described his decision to leave the race just weeks before the voting begins.

One thing is clear: Graham still wants his voice heard on the direction his party is headed, especially with regard to the Middle East.
"Here's what I predict. I think the nominee of our party is going to adopt my plan when it comes time to articulate how to destroy ISIL," he said. "We've fallen short here, but the fight continues. To those who are doing the fighting, I want to be your voice. To those in the Republican Party who want to win, check my plan out. Hillary, if you get to be President, I'll help you where I can. I hope you're not. But if you are, I'll be there to help you win a war we can't afford to lose."

Graham's decision -- which leaves a field of 12 main GOP candidates (CNN had 13 at its last Republican debate, including Graham) -- comes just days after the CNN Republican Presidential Debate in Las Vegas, where he was widely viewed as dominating the undercard debate.
However, Graham was never able to break onto the main stage after announcing his candidacy in early June — a reality of the Republican Party's new debate structure that he blames at least in part for his struggles. Graham limped along at less than one percent in national polls, and, in the most recentCNN/ORC national poll, he barely registered. He failed to even qualify for the undercard round in the Fox Business debate in November.
"Four months ago at the very first debate, I said that any candidate who did not understand that we need more troops on the ground in Iraq and Syria to defeat ISIL was not ready to be Commander in Chief," Graham wrote in the email. "At the time, no one stepped forward to join me. Today, most of my fellow candidates have come to recognize this is what's needed to secure our homeland."
He added, "While we have run a campaign that has made a real difference, I have concluded this is not my time."
Related: Lindsey Graham's best lines from the CNN debate
"My biggest problem is a lot of people like what I say, but not a lot of people hear it," he told CNN. "I don't want to be the undercard voice. I cannot tell you how frustrating it has been to have spent all this time and effort preparing myself to be Commander-in-Chief and to be put at the 'kiddie table'." His advice to his party as it relates to the debate format: "Never do this again."
Graham's campaign strategy had been laser-focused on New Hampshire: Place high in that first primary state on February 9 and use the momentum to propel him forward. So why not hold out until then?

"I'm not trying to hold out. I'm trying to make a difference. I think the best way for me to make a difference is to think about helping somebody else," he said.
In another key primary state, South Carolina, he faces a Monday December 21 deadline to keep his name off the ballot, potentially helping Graham avoid an embarrassing showing in his home state. Asked whether that fueled his decision to drop out now, Graham said no and added that he'd risk it if he saw a way to turn things around.
"At the end of the day, I'm not going to be competitive in my state," he said. "I'm not going to be competitive outside my state."
Asked who he would endorse, Graham demurred. "I'm going to take some time with my family. Going to think about what I should do. I have no intention of endorsing anyone right now." Later, he said that if he were to endorse, he's looking for the candidate best fit to be Commander-in-Chief and also who can win.
As for the candidate Graham has traded barbs with the most since he entered the race in early June, Graham struck a markedly softer tone toward Donald Trump."You're doing really well. I'm impressed with your campaign," he said.
Graham -- who recently urged Republicans to tell Trump to "go to hell" -- also did not rule out accepting a Cabinet position in a Trump administration in the future.
CNN Politics Debate Sweepstakes

But he did offer these parting words for Trump: "We're at war. A lot of men and women are at risk overseas. Watch what you say over here."
"You may wind up being the nominee of the Republican Party," he added. "The Republican Party's future may be in your hands. The future of the country will be in your hands if you're President of the United States. This is not a game show. This is not a reality show."
Candidly, Graham said he has a lot of regrets looking back at his campaign. "I regret that I haven't been a better candidate. I regret that I never got on the big stage. I regret that I didn't make it to the final group. But that's just about me. I have no regrets about running for President," he said. "It has been the joy of my life to run for President of the United States."

http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/21/politics/lindsey-graham-2016-campaign-drops-out/index.html

by ALEX SWOYER
21 Dec 2015
Washington, DC
1,105 comments

GOP presidential candidate Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is suspending his presidential campaign, after failing to gain any traction or gain any support–even in his home state of South Carolina, the first primary in the south.
According to RealClearPolitics South Carolina polling averages, Graham barely cracked a single percent in his home state that he’s represented in the US Senate for years.

His national numbers and his numbers in other early states were in many cases worse than that. Graham – who was tied for last place in the GOP field – only averaged .5 percent nationally, according to Real Clear Politics.

Now dropping out of the race, Graham’s significant lack of support anywhere in America–including his home state–is a warning to any politicians that taking viewpoints like his in support of amnesty for illegal aliens is essentially a nonstarter with the entire electorate.

“I want to thank everyone whose taken this journey with me…I believe we’ve run a campaign we can be proud of,” Graham stated in a video he posted online.

On Twitter Graham wrote, “Thank you to everyone who honored me with their support. God bless our fighting men and women & God bless America.”

He said he thinks the Republican Party won’t follow President Obama’s doctrine of following from behind and will lead the fight to keep America safe and secure.

South Carolina GOP chairman Matt Moore argues that Graham still has political relevancy in South Carolina, even after this humiliation:

Senator Graham gave 110 percent effort in seeking the Republican presidential nomination. We are proud of him for being the first South Carolinian in over sixty years to seriously compete for the White House.

Senator Graham has an incredibly strong and loyal grassroots network in South Carolina. Given Senator Graham’s huge primary victory in South Carolina just last year, the Graham network could have a major impact on South Carolina’s presidential primary.

http://www.breitbart.com/big-governm...tial-campaign/

What is scary is that .5% of Americans out there are willing to approve of Lindsey Graham for President! I guess that is part of the illegal alien vote giving him the thumbs up lol.

W

By Al Weaver • 12/21/15 11:56 AM

Sen. Lindsey Graham admitted on the same day he dropped out of the 2016 presidential race that the more moderate wing of the Republican Party is a thing of the past.

"What's happened here is sort of my lane of the party has collapsed," Graham said in an interview with CNN's Kate Bolduan, when asked why he isn't holding out until the South Carolina primary on February 20th.

"At the end of the day, I'm not going to be competitive in my state if I'm not competitive outside my state," Graham said, noting that he was once a front-runner in the state. "South Carolina's been incredibly good to me. I would be competitive in South Carolina, but I've got to show traction outside the state."

Graham was the only Republican in the race who supported a path to citizenship for the nation's 11 million illegal immigrants, putting him at odds with many other candidates and many Republican voters who oppose the Democrats' efforts to secure a path to citizenship. Despite that position, Graham opposed "birthright citizenship," and was also known for his hawkish proposals for fighting the Islamic State and other terrorist groups.

"This is an election for the heart and soul of the Republican Party," Graham said later on. "This is no longer about 2016. This is about who are we as a party, where do we want to go, and where do we take the country."

Graham's exit from the race now leaves 13 candidates in the race. He also added that he has no intention to endorse a candidate at the moment.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/li...rticle/2578850

Long overdue. 13 is still way too many. Time many drop out like flies, it ought to be embarrassing by now.

Graham was the only Republican in the race who supported a path to citizenship for the nation's 11 million illegal immigrants

Not true! Rubio was part of the gang of eight that supported a path to citizenship for illegal aliens.

Originally Posted by MW

Not true! Rubio was part of the gang of eight that supported a path to citizenship for illegal aliens.

So does Bush. So does Kasich. So does Fiorina for their kids and legal status for the adults. So does Rand Paul. And Ted Cruz supports legal status and work permits.

Carly Fiorina on June 15, 2015 said:

Former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina said Monday that adult illegal immigrants should not receive a path to citizenship under an immigration fix, but said she is open to giving their children citizenship.

Mrs. Fiorina, who is running for the GOP presidential nomination, also said she could support giving those who “have come here illegally and stayed here illegally” legal status.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...-illegal-immi/

Rand Paul said on March 19, 2013:

In a speech to be delivered Tuesday morning to the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the potential 2016 presidential candidate declares, "If you wish to live and work in America, then we will find a place for you." A copy of the speech was obtained in advance by The Associated Press.

Paul's path to citizenship would come with conditions that could make it long and difficult for illegal immigrants. Chief among these, Congress would have to agree first that progress was being made on border security.

Nonetheless, Paul's endorsement of allowing illegal immigrants an eventual way to become citizens puts him in line with a growing number of Republicans who are embracing action on immigration as a way to broaden the GOP's appeal to Latinos. On Monday, a Republican National Committee report called on the GOP to support comprehensive reform, though without specifying whether it should include a pathway to citizenship, which is decried by some conservatives as amnesty.

Paul's move also comes as a bipartisan group of senators is nearing agreement on sweeping legislation to overhaul the nation's immigration laws, an effort that could get a boost from Paul's stance. In an interview, Paul said he could foresee backing the Senate group's emerging bill, although he plans to try to amend it on the floor with some of his own ideas.

Paul's speech is peppered with Spanish phrases from his youth in Texas, references to his immigrant grandparents and praise for Latino culture. He says his party must adopt a new face toward Hispanics and says conservatives must be part of it.

"Immigration reform will not occur until conservative Republicans, like myself, become part of the solution. I am here today to begin that conversation," Paul says.

"Let's start that conversation by acknowledging we aren't going to deport" the millions already here, he says.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/rand-pau...o-citizenship/

Ted Cruz office said on March 27, 2015:

Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz’s office on Friday indicated the Texas senator remains open to a path to legal status for undocumented workers, putting him at odds with conservatives who deride such a position as unacceptable “amnesty.”

Cruz opposed the Senate bipartisan immigration bill and its proposed path to citizenship that passed in 2013, but he also indicated to The Texas Tribune that year that he supported giving some undocumented immigrants permission to stay in the country with more limited legal status. He noted that an amendment he had filed to strip the Senate legislation of its citizenship component deliberately “did not change the underlying work permit from the [bill]” that would allow undocumented immigrants to remain in the country without fear of deportation.

Cruz has almost never discussed his support for legalization since then, instead focusing his public statements on passing border security legislation and making changes to the legal immigration system first. In early 2014, he decried a short-lived proposal by House GOP leaders that granted legal status – but not necessarily citizenship – to certain immigrants as “amnesty for those here illegally.”

More, recently Cruz has helped lead the charge in Congress against what he calls Obama’s “illegal executive amnesty” which would grant temporary work permits to undocumented immigrants. He’s even threatening a government shutdown to block the measure.

Asked by msnbc about where Cruz stands now on legalization, campaign spokeswoman Catherine Frazier said that the senator has been “consistent” and confirmed that the views he expressed in the Tribune had not changed. She described his amendment to the Senate “gang of eight” bill as an effort ”to improve a very bad bill” that he ultimately opposed.

While Frazier said Cruz fought the bill’s path to citizenship because it “flies in the face of the rule of law,” she declined to apply the same label when asked about legal status in the right circumstances.

“I think his main priority is dealing with the border security component and making sure that we know who is coming into the country and making sure that we have control over who is coming into the country and then we can deal with what to do with the people who are already here,” she said.

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/ted-cruz-...nted-imigrants

Judy wrote:

So does Bush. So does Kasich. So does Fiorina for their kids and legal status for the adults. So does Rand Paul. And Ted Cruz supports legal status and work permits.

Cruz has in the past supported expanded legal immigration, which he no longer supports. Furthermore, he is now saying he is "unequivocally" against the legalization of illegals. To my knowledge all the others mentioned do still support legalization (amnesty) for illegals.

Lindsey Graham Exits Race After Wasting Donors’ Millions

AFP

by MIKE FLYNN
21 Dec 2015

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is out of the race for the Republican nomination for President.

His withdrawal ensures his name can be removed from the primary ballot in South Carolina, which votes on February 20. A recent poll of the Palmetto State found Grahamwith just 1 percent support, even though he has represented the state in Congress for twenty years.

This isn’t a surprise, as he has struggled to gain traction in any polls. His national pollingaverage is just 0.5 percent. In New Hampshire, where he has devoted most of his time as a candidate, his polling average is 0.0 percent.

Explaining his decision to exit the race, Graham pointed to the debate process, in which low-polling candidates were confined to an “undercard” debate without the major contenders.

“We’ve come to a point now where I just don’t see how we grow the campaign without getting on the main stage,” Graham said.

One of the biggest problems we’ve had was to get our voice on equal footing with others. This second-tier debate process has been difficult for us. I think we’ve done well in the debates, it’s just hard to break through because the buzz doesn’t last very long.

Superficially, Graham’s point about the minor debates makes some sense.

Other candidates, however, including Carly Fiorina and Chris Christie, were able to move to the main debate stage because of growing support in some early states. Graham wasn’t in the main debates because he didn’t earn a podium there.

It should be remembered that Graham, or rather Super PACs supporting his candidacy,spent around $3 million on advertising in New Hampshire. This is more than many candidates who poll higher than him in the Granite State. It is more than Ben Carson has spent and three times more than either Carly Fiorina,
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) or Donald Trump.

Graham also had the backing of Arizona Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) , who has long been popular in New Hampshire. McCain not only recorded a TV ad for Graham, he spent many days campaigning with him in the first primary state. While Graham didn’t make the main stage for the 5 GOP debates, he is a frequent guest on cable news and broadcast political shows. He has appeared countless times on the Sunday political shows throughout the campaign.When he announced his candidacy in June, Graham said his purpose in running was to ensure that national security, terrorism and foreign policy were at the forefront of the policy debate for President. In the months since Graham announced, national security has become one of the defining issues in the Republican nomination battle.

In a recent CBS poll, more than 60 percent of Republican voters in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, in fact, said national security was the most decisive issue in making their choice of candidate to support. Graham portrays himself as a “hawk” on national security issues.

On paper, the current political dialogue and climate should provide an enormous advantage for Graham, at least in New Hampshire. He has campaigned there relentlessly, spent million advertising there and has had the help of Sen. McCain. Yet, Graham does worse in New Hampshire than he does anywhere else.

It is perhaps churlish to point out, but Graham would probably poll better in New Hampshire if he had never campaigned there.

It is likely that Graham has failed to gain any traction in New Hampshire precisely because national security is an important issue and his approach to it is now rejected by Republican voters.

Graham, like McCain, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) , President Bush and other parts of the Republican establishment, is a neo-conservative hawk who believes the US military should be used to resolve conflicts anywhere in the world.Graham, McCain and Rubio all supported robust military engagement in Libya. They have supported a large US military presence in Syria , initially to drive Syrian President Bashir Assad from office. They now support a large military presence to combat ISIS.

There is almost no conflict in the world where Graham doesn’t support dispatching US troops to right an alleged wrong. It is a Wilsonian view of foreign policy. A decade of occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan, however, have made the American public far more skeptical of this global tinkering.

When Graham wasn’t advocating for larger defense budgets or pushing to deploy US troops, his role in the campaign was to attack other candidates, especially Donald Trump, Ted Cruz or Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) . He support amnesty for illegal immigrants and believes the US should take in more Syrian refugees.Graham, basically, believes the Republican party should moderate every conservative position except the use of the military. Unfortunately for Graham, there are very few Woodrow Wilson Republicans.

During his aborted run for the White House, Lindsey Graham never made it to the main debate stage. He had ample opportunity, though, to present his views to the public, and Republican voters.

Those voters definitely heard his message. It was the message, not just the messenger, that they rejected.
http://www.breitbart.com/big-governm...nors-millions/