Lindsey Graham’s Supreme Court Hypocrisy
Charleston, SC — Lindsey Must Go (LMG PAC), the Super PAC dedicated to defeating Lindsey Graham and electing Jaime Harrison to the US Senate, has partnered with The Lincoln Project on a substantial TV ad buy targeting Graham. The TV spot highlights the stark hypocrisy of Graham’s 2016 comments during the confirmation process of Merrick Garland and his 2020 turnaround.
The ad comes after Graham’s full-throated support for a Presidential nomination and Republican-majority Senate confirmation of a Supreme Court Justice to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who passed away on Friday.
In a tweet on Saturday, Graham said, “I will support President @realDonaldTrump in any effort to move forward regarding the recent vacancy created by the passing of Justice Ginsburg.”
Four years earlier, Graham struck a noticeably different tone during the nomination process of Merrick Garland by then-President Obama.
“I want you to use my words against me. If there’s a Republican president in 2016 and a vacancy occurs in the last year of the first term,” said Graham, adding “you can say Lindsey Graham said let’s let the next president, whoever it might be, make that nomination.”
He then doubled down on that position at an event hosted by The Atlantic in 2018 saying “If an opening comes in the last year of President Trump’s term, and the primary process has started, we’ll wait ‘til the next election.”
“Lindsey Graham has shown himself to be nothing more than a loathsome lackey to whatever influential force he can latch on to,” said Reed Galen, co-founder of The Lincoln Project. “His unprincipled leadership cannot be allowed to continue, as he’s proven time and again that he’s willing to lie to and forsake the American people as long as it benefits him.”
“We knew Lindsey Graham was a hypocrite, but today he really secured his place in the Hypocrite Hall of Fame,” said Lauren Harper, Spokesperson for LMG PAC. “Today Senator Graham once again confirmed to the people of South Carolina that he’s willing to break his promises when it is politically convenient for him and his political party. We’re prepared to do whatever it takes and spend whatever is necessary to ensure Lindsey Graham’s political career ends on November 3rd. And yes, we’re going to take Senator Graham’s advice and use his words against him.”
The issue around the death of Justice Ginsburg injected a charge into an extremely tight race. Polls have consistently shown a tied race, including one from Quinnipiac this past week that showed both Graham and Harrison tied at 48%.