Thread: Graham ends his campaign for the White House

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.