CROSSING THE LINE

Unfortunately, we are all aware that the day of the citizen legislator and statesman is long gone.  In this day and age, the political landscape is mostly inhabited by the career politician.  In this shady world, there are few rules that cannot be broken.  Included in the short list are:

"If it protects your power base, DO IT".
"If it decimates your opposition, DO IT".
"If it benefits you, DO IT".
"If it secures reelection, DO IT".
"If you can use your power to silence rebellious constituents, DO IT".

Although these rules equally apply to both parties, we will concentrate this post exclusively on the Republican party.

During the "Reagan Era", the GOP generally spoke with one voice.  In 1994, this unified "CONSERVATIVE" voice gave this country The Contract With America.    Nothing in the Contract said anything about wanting bigger government, higher taxes, increasing the nanny state, or limiting liberty.  There was no hint of setting a middle of the road course. There was no suggestion that the GOP incorporate Liberal policies into the GOP proposal.  Quite the opposite was true. The Contract was clearly comprised of "Conservative Values".  The "CONSERVATIVE" Contract With America rallied the majority of Americans and brought them out to the polls. Ultimately, this proposal gave the Party total control of Congress. Lesson learned?  Not so much.

The basic political process is really quite simple.  Establish your values.  State your values.  Stick to your values.  If this effort strikes a positive cord with the voters, your effort is a success.  If it doesn't, you lose.  Any rational person would have concluded that the "Contract With America" strategy was a winner. But, as the GOP is wont to do, they snatched defeat right out of the jaws of victory when Speaker Gingrich decided he was going to "share governing with the Democrats". He decided it was a good idea to appoint a sufficient number of Liberals to the key committees as to give them power enough to obstruct. The end result of the Speaker's magnanimous gesture to the Democrats was the loss of control of Congress and avoiding jail time by the skin of his teeth.

On the off chance that anyone has missed the point, here are the choices established by this little bit of history:

1.  ESTABLISH YOUR POSITION.  GARNER THE APPROVAL OF THE VOTERS.  THEN, GOVERN BASED ON YOUR ESTABLISHED PROPOSAL. EXPERIENCE SUCCESS.

2.  ESTABLISH YOUR POSITION.  GARNER THE APPROVAL OF THE VOTERS. CHANGE YOUR POSITION.  INCORPORATE THE OPPOSITION'S POLICIES.  LOOSE IT ALL.

The damage done by this fiasco didn't go away within an election cycle.  The GOP is suffering from the ramifications of these mistakes even unto today.  When the Speaker opened the door for the Democrats to act, they took full advantage.  As a result, the Democrats are still using and benefitting from many of the talking points they established during that time. Yet another long term detrimental effect on the GOP from the Speaker's mis-steps is that the GOP "Establishment" still walks in utter terror of some Democrat calling them one of the "death terms":  Homophobe, Racist, Bigot, or Greedy.  Today's "Establishment" Republican would go to any length to avoid a Democrat saying about them, "You are against the children"; "You are for dirty water and dirty air"; "You hate the poor"; "You hate minorities"; or, worst of all, "You want to throw grandma off the cliff".

As a result of this self-imposed phobia, the GOP "Establishment" has taken a track that increases the distance between them and the grassroots Republican. The "Establishment" Republican politician tends to follow and vote for policy trends that will be beneficial to them, even if it means joining forces with the Democrats. They are willing to "sell their souls" to avoid jeopardizing the security of their seat. On the other hand, the grassroots Republican voter expects their elected Representative and Senator to vote according to the Constitution and the GOP Platform no matter what the political cost.

This was the Genesis of the present schism in the Republican Party and gave birth to the Tea Party. At first blush, most in the "Establishment" wing of the GOP didn't tend to take the Tea Party very seriously. After all, it was just a bunch of folks with walkers, baby strollers, and "Don't Tread On Me" flags. But, after a couple of elections that saw Tea Party candidates actually win, the situation took on a different complexion. The Republicans had gained control of the US House of Representatives but a sizable number of this majority were Tea Party Republicans.  At last count the number is around 40. These Conservative voices began to have an influence on the actions of the House, not always with the approval of the "Establishment" branch of the Party.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, there is a quite different story.  The Democrats hold solid control. Even though several Tea Party candidates have won seats, they remain a minority within a minority.  The fact that they don't hold any real power to change the course of things hasn't seemed to deter these few Conservatives.  Senators like Cruz and Lee have put the "Establishment" Republicans into fits with their criticism of the status quo.  These actions have brought about two results.  The grassroots (Tea Party) Republicans have rallied to the support of these few Senators and the "Establishment" Republicans have attacked both these Senators and the Tea Party viciously.

Finally, we are going to come to the point of this post.

The damage done to the American people and the damage yet to be done as a result of ObamaCare has imposed political devastation on the Democrats.  If the polls are to be believed, a large number of them will lose their seats in both the House and the Senate in the 2014 midterm elections.  Normally, such a prospect would bring universal celebration among Republicans of all ilk. But, that is not the case. Even before the champaign cork had popped, many "Establishment" Republicans looked around and found that their poll numbers were as low as their imperiled Democrat colleagues. It appeared the Conservative grassroots from their individual states had really been paying attention to how their votes were cast.  AND, they didn't approve.

Over the past year in SC, as 7 Republican Party Executive Committees voted to censure Senator Lindsey Graham for casting votes that were contrary to the GOP Platform, Senator Graham ignored them.  His only visible reaction was to belittle and denigrate the members of the Tea Party. It seemed to matter little to him that the great majority of these Executive Committees is comprised of Tea Party members.

Seemingly impervious "Establishment" Republicans such as John McCain, AZ and Mitch McConnell, KY were shocked when they realized they had to face a primary challenge in the 2014 election cycle. Then came the almost unbelievable news, Lindsey Graham, SC was being challenged by no less than 4 candidates in the SC primary.  When the news broke, the Graham camp scoffed at the suggestion that Graham's seat could possibly be in any jeopardy.  "The whole situation was laughable."  "There wasn't a chance in a million." "The Senator was not concerned in the least." Then the polls started coming in.

One reliable poll painted an ominous picture for Senator Graham.  Even though he polled 28 points ahead of his closest challenger, when the numbers were added up, he didn't garner enough votes to avoid a run-off.  Political observers realize this amounts to an "anybody BUT Graham" vote. And, worst of all, this same poll gave the Senator a 49% disapproval vote. Again, political observers know a disapproval vote of 40% or above indicates a disastrous prognostication for any campaign.

These numbers came out after the Greenville County Executive Committee passed their censure resolution against Senator Graham.  Consequently, those pesky little censure resolutions from the various Executive Committees became VERY important to the Senator, so important that he found it necessary to have his operatives call the members of the Berkeley County Executive Committee to lobby against their proposed censure resolution that is on the agenda for their meeting later this month.

So, how did the Senator react to this situation?  What actions do you think he took to mitigate the damage done?  Did he hold a press conference to take questions and explain the reasons for his controversial votes?  Did he arrange to attend some of the Executive Committee meetings to face his constituents?  Did he, at least, send out some emails to establish a reconnection with the voters of SC?  No, he didn't.  He flexed his political muscles by gathering a group of paid operatives and political allies and sending them to the Horry County Executive Committee meeting held this week. The thuggery that ensued prevented the Committee from voting on the censure resolution that was on their agenda.

http://benswann.com/video-exclusive-interview-is-lindsey-graham-losing-his-grip-on-power-in-sc/

Anyone who regularly reads this blog knows we often voice our opinions on various subjects. It is rare that we drastically change our position on an issue.  Today, however, that is the case. Originally, we were of the opinion that censuring Senator Graham was not the way to go because a lot of people equate the word "censure" with the word "indict" which denotes some sort of criminal activity.  We were leaning more toward a "vote of no confidence" resolution. But, after observing the pure thuggery exercised toward the Executive Committee in Horry County, we have changed our mind. Now, we will settle for nothing less than a CENSURE RESOLUTION from the Berkeley County Republican Party Executive Committee.

Finally, we have one last thought on this subject.  It has come to our attention that this same group has plans to attend our Berkeley County Executive Committee meeting on the 17th of this month.  Since we, also, have a censure resolution on our agenda, we would hope they do not attempt an instant replay of their conduct in Horry.   Berkeley County has dealt with and defeated the Dark Side in the past so we know how to handle it, again.  When you're at the bottom of a hole, stop digging.
We have three words of advice for Senator Graham:
DON'T TRY IT.