Thread: SC: Witherspoon seeks Lindsey Graham's weak spots in primary

greenvilleonline.com
Witherspoon seeks Lindsey Graham's weak spots in Senate primary
By Dan Hoover • STAFF WRITER • June 6, 2008

Lindsey Graham is running for a second term in the U.S. Senate, and Tommy Stringer is running for an open state House seat in northern Greenville County.

Other than sharing the same Republican Party label, there’s no connection -- except for what Stringer says he’s hearing as he knocks on doors.

"I get two questions: Are you an incumbent and what do you think about illegal immigration. That’s interesting, considering we’ve got $3.70-a-gallon gas and the economy is shaky," Stringer said. "Incumbent," he suggests, is uttered as a pejorative.

Graham is both an incumbent and a supporter of failed bipartisan immigration legislation that some on the GOP’s right derisively tagged as "Grahamnesty."

Those are the cards Buddy Witherspoon is playing in a long-shot bid to grab the nomination from Graham who far overshadows him in name identification, money and personal clout. It’s the political equivalent of drawing to an inside straight.

To College of Charleston political analyst Jack Bass, "Lindsey Graham reflects much of the same independent spirit as Strom Thurmond, which attracts support beyond the party faithful. At this point, he appears among the easiest of easy winners in November."

But Witherspoon, 69, is betting that discontent with Graham and anger over immigration and other issues will leave him raking in the chips late Tuesday night.

Thursday in Greenville, standing at a lectern adorned with a campaign placard reading, "Lindsey is too liberal for South Carolina," Witherspoon said, "I feel great; people are upset." He goes on to say that Graham does not represent the citizens of his state.

How deep is the anti-Graham sentiment? He was booed at the 2007 state GOP convention. This year, his introduction to delegates was tepid compared to the one for fellow Republican Sen. Jim DeMint, who told the crowd, "We’ve got to fight for Lindsey." Graham’s surrogates have been heckled at local party rallies.

Graham says that the anger over the 2007 legislation, that would have provided a path to citizenship for many of the 12 million illegal aliens already in the U.S., has largely subsided. There is a "Dump Lindsey Graham" Web site, but was last updated Aug. 25, 2007. A "Replace Lindsey" site no longer exists.

And Katon Dawson, the state Republican chairman, has said that the Senate primary "is not as competitive as some might think."

Graham, 52, who has positioned himself as a credentialed conservative willing to reach across the aisle as necessary, described himself Thursday as "a reform-minded solid conservative who has made an impact" in providing effective first-term representation.

"I’ve got the experience and judgment to deal with the problems of the next six years," he says, ticking off a list that ranges from energy independence to Iran’s nuclear ambitions and the war on terrorism to runaway spending.

He cites his effort in forging a compromise -- one that didn’t meet universal GOP approval -- that broke the logjam on judicial nominations, sending conservatives John Roberts and Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court and an insider’s role in John McCain’s capture of the GOP presidential nomination.

A McCain presidency would make him a key Senate player for the administration, but in the event of a victory by Democrat Barack Obama, "I believe I can effectively counter some of his positions and, on occasion, work with him," Graham said.

In his stump speech opening, Witherspoon leaves no doubt that illegal immigration is his signature issue, one he sees as Graham’s greatest weakness. He often begins, "Press one if you want to hear this speech in English, two for Spanish."

On immigration, he would greatly enhance border controls, end all taxpayer-funded benefits for illegals and abolish citizenship for the U.S.-born children of illegal aliens, require immigrants to read and write English that he would make the nation’s official language, eliminate the discredited I-9 Form in favor of electronic verification of aliens’ status, and impose "tough fines" on businesses that hire illegals.

Because of the costs to taxpayers, illegal immigration, "is not cheap labor in any way, shape or form," he said.

Graham has defended the immigration bill as a legitimate effort to deal with the problem and has rejected arguments it provided amnesty, although he now says he’s "gotten the message" of border security first.

Witherspoon also embraces the speculation of a sub rosa effort to combine the U.S., Mexico and Canada into a North American Union.

"I don’t know about conspiracy," he said Thursday, but "I didn’t conjure this up. Go to the Web sites... It’s something that has come forth and my concern is I’m not willing to see this great nation get caught in a vice or net when all of a sudden they say to us, hey, you’re now part of a North American Union, like the European Union. I’m not willing for that to happen," he said.

"Could that be the reason they don’t want to secure the borders? He asked rhetorically, then cited the rumored "Trans-NAFTA highway that would run across our country from Mexico to Canada. If that happens, what happens to the sovereignty and Constitution? They’re talking about changing the currency to what they call an Amero. I say no to the North American Union."

Asked what groups are behind the alleged plan, Witherspoon said, "I’m not sure."

Publications including Human Events, plus Phyllis Schlafly’s Eagle Forum and U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, who sought the GOP presidential nomination this year, have given voice to the unproven theory of a cabal poised to merge the three nations and replace their currencies with the Amero, supplies of which have already been stockpiled.

At a recent Spartanburg GOP rally in Boiling Springs, Margaret Howard denounced the NAU and produced a map showing the purported route of the eight-lane Mexico-Canada superhighway. Following her remarks, Witherspoon said, "The lady did a good job a while ago: No North American Union for the United States of America."

That was greeted with cheers and applause.

But Graham says, "I can say unequivocally that there is nobody in Congress that remotely entertains such an idea. It is a result of conspiracy theories on the Internet. What I’m worried about is Iran developing a nuclear weapon, the outcome in Iraq, $4 gas...

"I’m not going to scare people based on unfounded rumors and gossip," he said.

While not unknown to Republican voters because of his 11 years on the RNC, Witherspoon still faces name identification and financial gaps that come with taking on a sitting U.S. senator.

Graham has raised $8.16 million and had $4.51 million in cash on hand as of May 21, according to the most recent Federal Election Commission reports. Witherspoon reported receipts of $399,873, although $220,000 was in a personal loan to his campaign. He listed $94,484 in available cash.

http://tinyurl.com/3n9yww

Man if that pansy, Graham wins another homo election in SC, I'm definitely out of here.

How can people be so totally stupid more than once?

I had a coffee earlier this year with a Mexican Harvard graduate student who was on leave from the Office of Presidente Felipe Calderon. If there is no plan for a North American Union it comes as news to him. His attitude was how dare mere American citizens say there should not be an open border that would mean slowing down the North American Union.

Yes, the Americans are the last to know about anything.

Going to take a true revolution to take this country bank.... the poor ole USA going down the tubes, and will be history soon.

Scram Graham. We don't want your amnesty sham.

Good luck to Mr. Witherspoon!

What I can't understand is why Jim DeMint would support Grahamnesty since it's obvious the folks in SC are feed up with illegal aliens.

Graham has raised $8.16 million and had $4.51 million in cash on hand as of May 21, according to the most recent Federal Election Commission reports. Witherspoon reported receipts of $399,873, although $220,000 was in a personal loan to his campaign. He listed $94,484 in available cash.

This is what's scary. Seems money buys elections which isn't right.

The people in South Carolina that support Graham are the elites. Our politicians and big businessmen that want to maintain the status quo. These are the same people responsible for bringing hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens into the state. The ones that employ them and refuse to have our laws enforced. I had the distinct privelege of encountering some of them last Saturday as I stood in front of the GOP convention. They called us ignorant and idiots. Or they pretended that we didn't exist as they walked right by us.

The common people in this state, however, are onto Graham and them. In the last year I have not met one person that says they will vote for Lindsey Graham. The anger in South Carolina against Graham is palpable. Go to his web site and you will not find mention of where he will appear campaigning because he is not comfortable with seeing the citizens protest his insane policies. Go to www.numberssc.com and you will see that anger that I speak of.

That anger is why our Governor just signed an illegal immigration bill. Now, our elites are using that bill to strenghten their chances of staying in office, even though most of them fought against it. Roan Quintana-Garcia, www.americanshavehadenough.org, says that we should vote all the incumbents out because they have betrayed us and I agree with him.

Hoping for good turnouts of the upcoming Dump Graham protests.

If anybody deserves dumping, it's certainly him.

I hope there is enough awareness and grass roots opposition to dump Graham, but I fear that, with his huge special interest-funded warchest coupled with the power of incumbency, he will win. And what's scary is that he is relatively young and could well be around awhile.

See the link to his campaign contributions here:

http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/ ... cycle=2008

Also, note that his top campaign contributor is "Nelson, Mullins et al" who contributed $108,091.
A quick Google search revealed that this is a law firm which, among other areas, handles immigration matters. Here is an excerpt from their website:

"International business requires the swift movement of key executives, management personnel, and technical staff across national borders without disruption and legal entanglements...In addition, they assist companies in obtaining non-immigrant visas, extensions and changes of non-immigrant status to maintain continuity of employment for key executives and staff. The Firm also helps secure permanent resident status for eligible persons, including labor certifications, provides counsel and guidance securing key employees in merger and acquisition scenarios..."

Full link here:

http://www.nelsonmullins.com/areas_of_l ... mmigration

Finally, see that this firm's political committee contributed to John McCain's presidential campaign in late June 2007, just about when the Bush/McCain/Kennedy amnesty bill was defeated:

http://www.campaignmoney.com/committee. ... 5&cycle=08